


Suburban Daydreams

by SperaStella



Series: Damerey Creations Week 2020 [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternative Universe - FBI, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Consensual, Danger, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Feelings Realization, Feelings make you stupid, First Kiss, Happy Ending, House Party, Hurt, Love Confessions, Makeup, Marriage Proposal, Mutual Pining, Showers, Spanking, Suburbia, Undercover, Undercover as Married, everyone ships it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:16:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27192982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SperaStella/pseuds/SperaStella
Summary: FBI special agents Poe Dameron and Rey Smith have been partners for almost two years. They have closed 23 cases together including shutting down an illegal firearms sale, breaking up a human trafficking ring, and stopping a major terrorist attack.When a group of Bothan spies hacks the Pentagon, Poe and Rey are sent undercover as husband and wife to the quiet suburban neighborhood of Alderaan.The only problem with that plan: the very real feelings they have been keeping from one another.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Rey
Series: Damerey Creations Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985074
Comments: 102
Kudos: 105





	1. The Proposal

**Author's Note:**

> Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and the only thing better than fake dating is fake marriage. 
> 
> Based on an old episode of NCIS Los Angeles. 
> 
> I have this whole fic written and will be posting chapters weekly, maybe faster if you really goad me into it :)

“We’ve traced the Pentagon hack to a small suburban neighborhood just outside Coruscant,” says Deputy Director Cassian Andor as photos are displayed on the projector in the conference room of the FBI Special Operations Division. “The NSA believes this to be the work of a small but effective ring of Bothan sleeper agents.” 

More photos flash across the screen. “This is a tight-knit local neighborhood located in Alderaan. The foreign agents in question most likely have been living here undetected for several years.” 

The projector turns off and the lights in the room turn-on. Senior field agent Poe Dameron glances over at his partner, Rey Smith, sitting to his right. They exchange a quick concerned look before focusing back on the briefing. 

Rey Smith was a junior agent who graduated from Quantico a year and a half ago. At the insistence of some people very high up in the Bureau, she was assigned to the Special Operations Division with Poe as her partner and supervising agent. In the time they had worked together, he quickly discovered why the brass had placed so much faith in her. She was whip-smart, nearly as good a markswoman as him, proficient in Taekwondo and Jujutsu, and was particularly skilled at code-breaking. 

“Agents Dameron…” Poe straightens up in his chair at the sound of his name. “...and Smith will be leading the search for these agents directly. Trooper and Tico will be supporting them. Wexley, Kun, and Pava will coordinate with the NSA and attempt to predict and deter any future security breaches.” The deputy director looks around the room to ensure everyone understands their assignments before dismissing the room. 

“Dameron, Smith, a word in my office if you would please,” he says waving the two inside. 

Poe holds the door open for Rey as they take the two seats in front of Director Andor’s desk. 

“What’s up sir?” asks Poe.

“Given the sensitive nature of this operation and the fact these agents have been hiding among us for so long, we’ve decided the best approach to finding these spies is for you two to go undercover.” 

Poe glances over at Rey and a short smile begins to spread across her face. He knows undercover assignments are her favorite. She enjoys dressing up and pretending to be ridiculous characters “for the sake of the operation.” FBI work is rarely glamorous, but going undercover was one of the few bright spots. 

“Excellent sir. What will our cover be?” 

The director looks between them for several seconds which begins to make him very nervous. 

“You will be going undercover as a married couple, husband and wife.” 

“Um what?” stutters Poe.

His face starts to heat up and he glances over at Rey who sits quietly next to him staring at her shoes. 

“Sir…?” he begins to ask before being cut off. 

“You two will be undercover as a married couple who have just moved into the neighborhood. Our prevailing thought is that this will afford you the ability to get close and learn about your neighbors without drawing suspicion.” 

“Yes, sir” chimes in Rey, her voice softer than usual. She glances over at Poe and her eyes give nothing away as to her current thoughts. 

Poe sighs and nods. “Understood sir.” 

“Very good.” Director Andor waves them out. “Check-in with Maz. She’ll get you situated with your cover aliases, money and other essentials.” 

They exit the office in silence, mostly because Poe is still partially in his own headspace. He can’t believe this is happening. Undercover. Married. To Rey. His trepidation has nothing to do with the case or lack of belief in Rey’s abilities. Oh no. 

It has _everything_ to do with his small infatuation with his partner.

It’s not his fault Rey is gorgeous and all-around awesome in every way possible. It’s not his fault they spend 12 hour days together followed by drinks afterward to unwind. That’s what partners do. It’s not his fault they can talk about everything and nothing during 10 hour overnight stakeouts while eating nothing but crappy gas station snacks. It’s not his fault she’s absolutely adorable when she ends up hogging most of said snacks. And it’s definitely not his fault he can remember the day they met like it was yesterday, every detail seared into his memory. 

He didn’t plan for this to happen. Fraternization between supervisors and subordinates is very much against Bureau policies. 

But it did happen and now he can barely go a day without thinking about her radiant smile, soft hazel eyes and flowing chestnut hair. 

Okay. 

Maybe it’s a bit more than a small infatuation. 

***

“You are so lucky you know that right?”

Rey dumps her to-go bag out of her desk drawer and into the duffle on the floor. “How so?” 

“This case!” sighs Rose. “This is a big deal and you get to be leading the charge going undercover with Poe.” 

“Oh right. Yeah…”

Since receiving her new assignment, Rey has spent the past few days preparing by reviewing the case file as well as her cover. Today was the last day they would be in the office for several weeks. Tomorrow, she and Poe would move into their new suburban home in Alderaan and begin their undercover assignment. 

If she was being honest, she was terrified. 

Rey Smith had never lived with anyone before. Ever since she turned 18 and ran away from Unkar Plutt she had been on her own. She’s never been engaged or had a serious relationship. In fact, she can’t even remember the last time she went on a real date. But now she was going to be spending the next few weeks living with her partner 24/7...as his wife. 

She worked really hard to get into the Bureau and to say Poe Dameron was not what she expected as her first partner would be an understatement. Although he had some initial hesitation about her, Poe quickly grew to trust Rey completely to the point where she really felt like a true equal in their partnership. Sure, he would occasionally scold her for doing something reckless — which admittedly she may do more often than he would like — but ultimately she knew he did it from a place of caring. He was also the best agent Rey had ever seen. It wasn’t anything like his investigative skills or gun proficiency that made Poe so good at his job. It was his compassion, humor, and empathy that made him who he was. He could see through people in a way that was just downright scary at times. It was like he had ESP. 

Perhaps that’s also the reason why she had become the biggest cliche in all of law enforcement: the girl who developed feelings for her partner. 

It didn’t start out that way of course, but the more late nights, early mornings and life and death situations they found themselves in, the more she grew attracted to him. She knew it was wrong and the very definition of prohibited interpersonal relationships between senior and junior agents, but that didn’t make her feelings any easier to quell. 

_Speaking of which…_

“Hey there,” says Poe as he enters the bullpen with Finn right behind him. “Been looking for you two.”

Rey zips up her duffle. “Here we are.”

“Great. Finn, Rose: are you both set with everything on your end?”

Finn takes a seat at his desk. “Yep, we’ll try to keep an eye out on your neighbors from a safe distance, let you know if anything looks off.” 

“Good.”

“Are you nervous?” Rose asks Rey.

“Puh-lease,” interjects Poe with a laugh. “Rey has gone undercover in the Russian mob, I think she can handle being married to me for a few weeks.” 

Rose snorts and rolls her eyes. 

“He’s right. I’ll be perfectly fine,” Rey replies, looking from Finn to Rose and finally to Poe, offering him a timid smile. 

He nods. “Okay, well guess we better make this official then right?” 

Poe reaches into his back pocket and pulls out an envelope. Opening the seal, he turns it over until the contents tumble into his hand: two silver bands. Wedding rings. Rey flushes slightly and holds out her hand for him to pass her the ring intended for her. 

“Oh hell no,” grins Poe. “There is no way I’m letting my wife go around telling people I didn’t do this properly.” Kicking his chair out of the way and taking a step toward her, he begins to lower down.

_Ohmygod._

“Poe, come on...” she laughs as her face goes beet red. Finn and Rose also burst out in laughter once they realize what he’s doing. The latter even takes out her phone to record the exchange.

“Rey Daisy Smith…” 

She buries her face in her hands, shaking her head. 

_This can’t be happening. Is he really doing this here? Now?_

“Will you marry me?”

Rey slowly peels her hands away from her face to see Poe Dameron kneeling down on one knee in front of her with one hand extended and the ring intended for her held up like an offering.

“You’re a moron,” she laughs. 

“I know.” He winks. “What do you say Sunshine?” 

Sunshine — the nickname he gave her during their first month on the job together when no matter how late they worked into the evening, she would always show up the next morning smiling and ready to go. Rey teased him endlessly about how much she hated the moniker but they both knew the truth: she actually loved it. 

She shakes her head with a huge smile spread across her face. Her face is still red with embarrassment and more agents in the office are looking over at the scene Poe has now created. There seems to be no escaping this. 

“Fine...I guess I’ll marry you.”

Slowly, she extends her left hand. 

He reaches up, takes her hand into his, and gently slides the wedding ring onto her ring finger with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face. 

Her breath hitches at his touch and the sight of the ring now nestled around her finger.

Rose and Finn cheer in laughter. 

Poe rises to his feet and holds out his own ring for her. “Would you like to…”

Picking up her duffle, Rey gives him a playful shove out of her way. “My husband can put on his own damn ring.” 

She quickly scurries away before literally dying of embarrassment.

***

The front door opens and a loud voice calls out. “Honey, I’m home.” 

Rey sits up on the living room couch to see Poe stumbling inside the house with bags of groceries on each arm. She smiles to herself. There is something very sexy about watching her man lift things. 

_Wow. That escalated quickly. Also, since when was he her man again?_

They had moved into the house yesterday: a two-story home with three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, a two-car garage, finished basement, and large front and back yards. It was huge, way more space than either of them needed. Rey’s 500 square foot Coruscant apartment could fit inside their master bedroom with room to spare. 

She quickly jumps off the couch and hurries over to the groceries he’s now set down on the kitchen counter. “How was it?”

“Pretty good actually. I could get used to food prices out here in the suburbs.” Poe grins and slowly begins to remove a yellow package from one of the bags. “I even got you some of those Keebler fudge sandwich cookies I know you like.” 

“Oh my god, I love you _Poe Kenobi_!” She grabs the package, rips it open, and stuffs one of the cookies into her mouth. 

He squeezes her shoulder, causing her to blush. She is still getting used to this whole married life thing. It took her two hours to fall asleep last night, anxious out of her mind that they were sharing a bed. Poe seemed completely chill about the whole thing, climbing into the king bed and scooting over to one side to give her more room. Part of her didn’t want more room. That part of her wanted less room. Preferably as little room as physically possible. 

“Alright, that’s enough _Mrs. Kenobi_ ,” he laughs, yanking the cookies away from her. Her blush deepens at the sound of her married cover name. She had thought the name sounded weird when originally reading it in a file back at the office, but something about hearing the name, _Mrs. Rey Kenobi,_ when Poe says it makes it feel just right. 

“Nooo please,” she whines playfully and paws at him.

“No, that’s enough,” he chuckles, still holding the cookies out of her reach. “We need to get ready for the neighborhood welcome party.” 

News of their arrival in the neighborhood traveled fast and one of their neighbors, Hera Jarrus and her husband Kanan, insisted on throwing them a welcome-to-the-neighborhood party at their house just two doors down.

Rey pouts, crossing her arms over her chest. “Alright fine.”

Poe continues taking out the rest of the groceries and she is surprised at how well he organizes the food on the counter into the pantry and refrigerator. She never expected him to be so meticulous with regard to the kitchen. His voice shifts from playful to a more serious work tone: “This party will be our first real shot at learning about our neighbors. Why don’t you go upstairs and shower and change? I’ll finish up here and go after you. ” 

“Very well,” she says with a smile, skipping upstairs. 

Their master bathroom shower was three times larger than the tiny closet shower in her apartment. Might as well put it to good use.

***

Poe finishes up in the kitchen and then heads down to the basement to check their surveillance equipment. When he hears Rey finishing up in the bathroom, he works his way upstairs to shower and change before the party. 

Entering the bedroom, he sets aside a pair of designer jeans and an equally high-end designer button-up shirt in the closet. He would never wear anything this expensive, government employees don’t make this type of money. His cover though, Poe Kenobi, was a well-off executive of Resistance Industries and had just moved into the suburbs of Alderaan with his lovely wife. Poe pulls his t-shirt over his head and drops it on the bed. He stops dead in his tracks at the sight of Rey walking out of the bathroom.

She’s dazzling. Simply dazzling. 

His breath hitches and he stares at her like an idiot. She’s wearing a periwinkle sundress that comes down above knees to perfectly accentuate her legs. The thin straps of the dress show off her strong shoulders and toned arms. Her hair falls to her shoulders and is styled in waves. She turns to reveal the dress has a bare-back all the way down to her shoulder blades. He can hear her voice saying something, but he’s so lost in everything Rey his brain doesn’t register it. 

“Can you help with zipping me up?” she repeats, her voice a little louder as she motions to her back.

“Um…” 

_Um? God damnit, you’re an idiot Dameron._

No way she doesn’t see right through him now.

“Um...yeah.”

As he steps closer to her, he notices color in her cheeks. _Is that makeup? Blush?_ He doesn’t have time to overanalyze that detail any further because he suddenly remembers he’s shirtless, wearing nothing but jeans as the distance between them evaporates. Slowly, he reaches forward and pulls the zipper of her dress up the remaining few inches until it settles in place. 

Her head turns to the side, chin on her shoulder. “Thank you,” she says softly, almost a whisper. 

Neither one of them move, both standing there for several seconds taking in the heat of their bodies so close to one another yet not actually in contact. 

Poe finally nods and heads into the bathroom. He needs a cold shower before he gets himself into trouble. That thought quickly disappears though when he notices the double-sink vanity.

“Rey?!” he calls loudly. 

She enters the bathroom behind him. “Yes?” 

“What the hell...is this?” he asks, pointing at the vanity. There are all sorts of beauty products littered over every inch of both sinks. Face creams, washes, hair spray, lipstick, eyeliner...the list goes on and on and on. 

“Oh, Maz gave me some things to help look the part,” she answers nonchalantly. “I wasn’t sure what I liked though so I fumbled through them all.” 

“Yes, I can see that, but why are they all still out on the vanity?” 

“What? I just haven’t put them away yet.”

Poe lets out an exasperated sigh and opens his mouth to say something but struggles to find the right words.

“Oh wow.” Rey grins. “Wow. Are you one of those crazy OCD bathroom people?”

He huffs. “If by crazy, you mean I like my bathroom neat and clean? Then yes, yes I am.” 

“Alright fine” she laughs. Reaching up and standing on her toes, she squeezes his bare shoulders from behind. Her soft and warm hands send a jolt of electricity down his spine. “I’ll clean it up after the party, you need to shower and get changed so we’re not late... _Mr. Kenobi_.” 

Rey exits the bathroom still laughing.

He really needs that cold shower. Ice cold. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! <3
> 
> Next Chapter: The Party


	2. The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Poe attend the neighborhood welcome party at the Jarrus's house.

Poe finishes up in the bathroom and changes into the clothes he set aside. While definitely not in his price range, he has to admit they are at least very comfortable. Rey is waiting on a barstool in the kitchen when he arrives downstairs. 

“Hey there, you ready to go?” he asks. 

She looks up at him and an unreadable expression comes over her face. 

“Rey? You good to go?”

She shakes her head and smiles widely, “Yes, definitely.”

Opening up the refrigerator, Poe retrieves the bottle of wine he picked up while out shopping earlier. They both make their way to the front door and he takes extra precaution to ensure he locks up. As they walk down their driveway, Poe extends his hand and smiles at her. “Let’s do this Mrs. Kenobi.”

She looks back at him, grins and takes his hand into her own. “Lead the way Mr. Kenobi.” 

**

In the distance it takes to walk from their driveway to the Jarrus’s front door the only thing on Rey’s mind is remaining calm so her palm doesn’t sweat. This is easily the most nervous she’s ever been about an operation.

Shut down an illegal firearms sale? No problem. 

Infiltrate the Russian mob to break up a human trafficking ring? Easy. 

Foil a major terrorist attack before the cell can be activated? Just a Wednesday.

But going undercover at a suburban neighborhood party as Poe’s wife? Rey is going out of her mind. 

It doesn’t help that Poe looks like he stepped straight out of a GQ magazine photoshoot wearing those designer jeans which fit perfectly to his butt and a button-up shirt with sleeves expertly rolled up to his tanned forearms. Seriously, it should be illegal for someone to look _that_ good with so little effort. 

Poe knocks on the door and glances over at her. He must sense her tension because he gives her hand a gentle squeeze. “Hey, it will be okay. We got this.” 

She looks up at him and the warmth in his eyes gives her a jolt of confidence. Before she can form a response, the door in front of them opens and Hera Jarrus appears on the other side. 

“Ah there are the guests of honor! Welcome!” 

“Hello Hera, thank you for having us. This is my wife Rey.” says Poe, ushering her in the house first. 

“Welcome welcome,” repeats Hera as she leans forward and hugs Rey. Yep, Hera is a hugger. 

“Thank you,” squeaks Rey awkwardly, unused to such affectionate touching from strangers. “You have a lovely home,” she adds, taking a look around.

“Oh thank you! And you, my dear Rey, are gorgeous!” Hera swats at Poe’s arm. “Poe you didn’t tell me your wife was so beautiful!”

“Umm yeah...” he stutters, turning a lovely shade of pink when he catches her eye. “Definitely…”

Rey ducks her head and equally blushes with a smile on her face, unable to keep eye contact any longer. 

“Alright you two come in, come in,” exclaims Hera. “You need to meet the neighbors!” 

Poe gives her hand another gentle squeeze and a little tug as they head inside the house and to the backyard to meet the rest of the guests. 

There were at least thirty people at the party already. Poe helped maneuver them through the crowd, trying to spend time with everyone. To start there were their hosts Hera and Kanan. The two had been together since high school despite it taking several years before they finally tied the knot. They were a real storybook romance. She was a teacher and he was an accountant. They had a 6 year old son, Jacen, who was running around with some of the other kids plus another on the way due in 3 months.

Next, they met Sabine and Ezra Bridger. They were the second newest members of the neighborhood who just moved in six months ago. A young couple in their mid-thirties, the Bridger’s similarly moved to the suburbs of Alderaan to escape the city life of Coruscant. 

“So what do you do for work now Ezra?” asks Poe.

“I’m a lawyer,” he says with a smile. “I used to work for one of the big firms in Coruscant, but I got tired of representing fortune 500 companies who were just looking to cheat and steal in order to make more money so I left. I started a small local practice here, Bridger and Associates, where I can make a real difference.” He reaches into his jacket and hands Rey a business card. “If you are ever in need of a lawyer, I’d be happy to help.” 

“Um thanks, hopefully we won’t need it though.” 

“What about you Poe, what do you do for work?” Sabine asks. 

“I work logistics at Resistance Industries. It’s mostly just a lot of numbers and spreadsheets.”

“My husband is being modest,” Rey interjects. If she’s going to be his wife, might as well do it right and have a little fun at the same time. He is just standing there looking so handsome… Rey slides up closer to him. “Poe is VP of Logistics for Resistance. He’s in charge of all global shipping and supply chain management.” She gives his hand a final squeeze and looks up at him with a smile. 

Poe looks at her with his wide brown eyes and grins. Slowly, he releases her hand and slides his arm across her waist, pulling Rey tighter to him. She blushes at their closeness, her body now pressed so firmly against his own. The feeling of his arm wrapped around her is so right, so natural. She can’t look away, his eyes are like homing beacons. Very slowly, he leans down closer to her. 

Her eyes begin to dart between his pupils to his lips and she is pretty sure her heart rate increases tenfold. 

_Is he actually going to do it?_

As he gets closer, he tilts his head to the side and presses a single quick kiss on her cheek.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he says softly. 

The feeling of his lips on her cheek, even if only for a second, sends flutters through her stomach. Rey grins from ear-to-ear, unable to contain her glee as they chit chat with the Bridger’s for several more minutes before eventually breaking away to meet several of the neighbors.

Wilhuff and Emily Tarkin are the next set of neighbors to be introduced. The Tarkin’s are the resident elders of the community having lived here for over thirty years. Rey wouldn’t necessarily classify them as grumpy old people yelling at kids to get off their lawn, but they did seem opposed to some of the neighborhood gentrification happening in recent years. They also have two adult twin children whose names Mr. Tarkin constantly mixes up.

They meet the Hux’s next. Armitage and Phoebe run an online crafts and jewelry business from their home. Phoebe comments on Rey’s complexion and offers to make her some jewelry. Armitage is more on the business side of things and handles logistics and finances. They supposedly have a son, Dopheld, in college who they don’t talk about much. Rey feels sorry for the kid if his parents actually named him Dopheld.

Kyle Ren is in his thirties and the resident loner of the community. He’s unmarried, has no kids and no family to speak of. He works at First Order Technologies and by the cost of his clothes, watch, shoes, and the way he carries himself, Rey assumes he makes a lot of money. He definitely isn’t shy about letting everyone know it. Perhaps the most unsettling thing about Kyle however is the way he looks at her - his eyes almost leering. She steps closer to Poe and guides his arm tighter around her waist for good measure. 

As they continue to make the rounds and meet the rest of the neighbors, it becomes almost surprising how well she and Poe begin to ease into their married routine. She stands next to him while he holds her hand or wraps his arm around her waist. They laugh and smile at each other's jokes. They even take turns poking quick kisses on each other’s cheeks. (She likes that part the best.) It becomes all too easy after a while and what originally seemed like a daunting assignment to spend a few hours schmoozing with the neighbors has her wishing they didn’t have to leave at the end of the night. She wishes they could stay like this longer.

Because the truth of the matter is regardless of how much Rey pretends like this is all an act for the sake of their cover, she enjoys being with Poe like this. She enjoys being _with_ him. Together.

***

They had spent the better part of the afternoon and early evening trying to meet each of their neighbors. While Poe grew up in the suburbs, Alderaan was nothing like the quiet farming town of Yavin. This was like they were living in some weird reality TV show with all the unique personalities, each one stranger and different from the last. He could see it now - _The Real Suburbs of Alderaan_. 

Then of course there was Rey.

He had hoped the focus on the mission would provide a welcome distraction from his previous blatant ogling of his partner. The exact opposite proved true. 

The more they worked their way through the guests in attendance, the more complicated things became. Holding hands soon escalated to his arm around her waist. When he would let go, she would quickly lean into him more, searching for his touch. Her eyes sparkled like stars on a clear summer night when he kissed her on the cheek. Two hours later and several more cheek kisses from both of them had his stomach lurching in new and exciting ways. 

It was all escalating too quickly and he needed to slow things down, which is why he eventually suggested they split up later in the evening to cover more ground. 

Poe found his way to Kanan finishing up the last of a rack of ribs at the grill and offered to assist. 

“That’s quite alright, I’m good,” says Kanan. “Are you getting on okay?” 

“Yeah, I think so,” replied Poe in a manner that doesn’t invoke much confidence. 

Kanan laughs at the neutral expression on his face. “Trust me, I know the feeling. I was the same way after Hera and I moved out here while she was still pregnant with Jacen.” 

“How is that?”

“Overwhelmed. Confused. Questioning yourself.” Kanan flips several of the ribs on the grill while sliding the finished ones onto a serving plate. “It’s a big move, especially while you are looking to begin building your family. You're wondering if they are going to be happy here? Will your kids like it? Can you stand the crazy neighbors?” He adds the last part with a wink.

Poe chooses not to comment on the implication of a family and sighs. “It’s certainly an adjustment…”

“You’ll get through it,” Kanan nods. “And you have Rey. Take it from someone who waited almost ten years before proposing to his wife, everything's better when you’re together.”

Poe’s eyes drift to Rey sitting at a table with several of the other neighborhood wives. She looks beautiful in that dress with her face slightly flushed from the drinks being served. 

He sighs and can’t help the smile that comes across his face.

So much for de-escalating those feelings. 

***

As the evening draws to a close, Rey somehow ends up at a table with Hera, Sabine, Emily, Phoebe, and several of the other neighborhood wives. It’s an eclectic group to say the least and she feels a bit like the odd duckling as she struggles to follow most of the conversations. At 25, she’s definitely the youngest of the group that’s for sure.

“So Hera, have you enrolled your newest addition into school yet?” asks Emily. 

“Yes, I sent in the application just last week!” 

“What about you Rey?” asks Sabine.

“What about me?” 

“Have you enrolled in the school waitlist yet?” inquires Sabine. 

“Um, why would I need to enroll in a waitlist?”

“For your kids dear,” says Hera with a smile on her face.

Rey flushes pink in her cheeks. “But um...I don’t have any kids.” 

“Not right now. But it takes years to get placed in the right classes and you are definitely going to want to reserve your spot.” The rest of the women at the table look at Rey like she’s crazy for not knowing this. _What kind of weird suburban reality is this?_ she wonders.

“Besides, I’m sure kids aren’t too far off in your future,” winks Hera. 

“Well I…”

“Seriously honey how did you get so lucky?” interjects one of the other wives with a grin. “Poe is a special kind of yummy if you don’t mind me saying so. I can see why you went for the older man.”

Several others nod in agreement. 

“Yep.” 

“Oh Yeah.”

“So lucky sweetie.”

Rey’s entire face goes completely red and is it just her or is it now 200 degrees outside and she’s sweating? She’s not sure which is more embarrassing, the assumption that she would soon be having a baby with Poe or these women literally **thirsting** over her husband. _Technically not your husband._ She begins to fidget with her hands in her lap. 

“Um...well...you see...um...the thing is…” She stutters, desperately trying to form a complete sentence with no success at all. 

“Oh, no need to be embarrassed dear,” laughs Phoebe. “I wish my husband looked at me the way yours does.”

“How is that?” Rey somehow squeaks out, glancing over at Poe by the grill. _Why does he have to make standing around doing nothing look so good?_

“Like he wants to devour you of course!” 

“I bet the sex is to die for,” another of the wives adds. 

_Ohmygodohmygodohmygod._

If Rey was embarrassed before, she’s downright mortified now. She buries her face in her hands while grinning from ear-to-ear. Her mind starts racing at that thought. Sex. With Poe. What would that be like? He would be good in bed right? She does really like it when he holds her. Their king bed back at the house would certainly be more comfortable than the old double in her apartment. He could probably lay her down and eat her out without falling off the bed too.

_Holy FUCK!_

That is more than enough of that line of thought. 

Still smiling, she looks up to find knowing smirks across the table. “I um…”

“Oh, there it is.” Sabine laughs. “Yep, definitely hot, steamy sex for Mrs. Kenobi here.” 

The table breaks out in laughter. Before Rey can stutter through another embarrassing response, Poe makes his way over to them and earns more than a few knowing grins from everyone.

“Evening ladies,” he says with a warm smile. “I hate to interrupt, but it’s getting late and the wife and I really need to be going.” 

_Thank god!_

She can’t remember ever being so happy to see him. Anything to get her out of the current conversation. She gets up from the table and takes Poe’s hand. He places a quick kiss on their joined hands before waving to the group. “Hera, thank you for having us. Ladies, have a good night.” 

“Dear God man, is that how you kiss your wife?” teases Emily. 

Several of the other wives concur as Rey once again blushes a deep shade of crimson. Poe’s eyes drift to her own and _damnit_ why does he have to have such nice soft brown eyes? _!_ They stare at each other for a moment before he leans in and presses a gentle kiss on her cheek. She swallows deep in her throat while trying to steady that damn flutter in her stomach. 

“Happy now?” he chuckles at them.

“Common Poe!” Sabine throws her arms in the air. “Do it right!”

“Booooo.” 

The other women join in on urging them to “do it right.” 

Rey’s eyes shift nervously from Poe to the women and then back to Poe. They are both smiling but it's clear neither of them is quite sure what to do. Should they kiss? Obviously to protect their cover...of course. Nothing else involved...of course.

_Of course._

Poe laughs and tries to talk their way out of the situation but the wives are having none of it. 

She takes a step closer to him and instinctively his arm slides further across her waist. Her right hand comes up to the collar of his shirt and they are frozen, pressed against one another with neither able to move. Looking into his eyes it's impossible to tell what he’s thinking. 

Would he kiss her? Does he even want to?

Who cares if this is just a cover, she knows she definitely wants to kiss him. 

Her eyes drift to his lips and she inches closer to him. Poe tilts his head down a bit further, the space between them almost nonexistent, and he looks at her with searching eyes. She really hopes he can’t feel her heart beating out of her chest while pressed against him. Rey nods her head ever so slightly, praying that she is conveying tacit permission. 

But he doesn’t do it. 

His eyes, his lips, and his hands around her scream one thing but he doesn’t take the final step. They stay locked together for what feels like an eternity...

Until Rey makes the decision for them both. 

She was always the more compulsive one anyway. 

Tightening her grip around his collar, Rey brings her lips up and plants a kiss on his lips.

It starts slow.. She is nervous at first when he doesn’t seem to return the kiss, but as she works through it, his lips eventually move and deepen it ever so slightly. The kiss is gentle, methodical and deliberate. It’s not overly passionate and no tongue is involved, but it’s definitely not chaste. 

_Amazing_ is really the only way to describe it. 

Sighing deep in her throat, Rey brings her arms up and behind his neck. Poe’s arm wraps tighter around her waist.

The entire kiss lasts maybe three seconds in total.

It is easily the longest three seconds of Rey Smith’s life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I wonder what happens next? :)
> 
> Next Chapter: The Routine


	3. The Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Poe adjust to their new life together.

The second Poe stirs awake his thoughts betray him.

The party. Last night. Rey.

He takes a deep breath and looks over at her lying on the other side of the bed. She’s curled up fast asleep with a peaceful look on her face. _This isn’t helping._ Sighing, he gets up from the bed quietly in order to not disturb her. He needs something to do. Anything to keep his mind distracted. Preferably something that doesn’t involve staying in bed with Rey. 

Checking his phone, he decides to head downstairs and work on case reports. 

Paperwork. That was the answer. For once in his life, Poe Dameron is beyond grateful for the nonsensical bureaucracies of the federal government. 

***

“Mmmmm,” moans Rey into her pillow as she stretches out.

Her eyes open slowly and she finds herself in the comfort of her shared bedroom. She could seriously start getting used to this. Missing next to her, however, is Poe. 

_Poe._

She smiles at the thought of him — her mind drifting back to last night…

_Poe backs up and breaks the kiss first. Rey tries her best to not look too disappointed as she stares at the ground._

_“Happy now?” His voice cracks speaking to the women at the table._

_“Well done!” jokes Sabine._

_They earn a few other cheers from the table before Poe takes her hand and begins leading her out of the house. He doesn’t look at her or say anything._

_Is he mad she kissed him? He kissed her back so it couldn’t be all bad right? Despite their complicated dynamic, she certainly doesn’t regret it. Now at least she knows what it's like to kiss Poe Dameron: pretty freaking great. Besides, they did keep their cover intact._

_Funny how that is the last thing on her mind..._

_“So...that was pretty crazy right?” she asks, wanting to break the silence as they walk down the street back to their house._

_“Yeah crazy,” responds Poe, his voice quiet and contemplative._

_She wants to talk about it. No, she definitely doesn’t want to talk about it. On one hand, if they talk about it, it could become a thing. But if they don’t talk about it, it definitely won’t be a thing. Does she even want it to be a thing? It’s all too confusing but one thing is clear: Rey has no idea what she wants._

_“I don’t know what I was expecting for a neighborhood party, but that wasn’t it,” he comments after a few moments._

_Guess he’s going with not talking about it._

_“Yeah,” she chuckles nervously. “Certainly an odd group of neighbors we have.”_

_“I’ll say.”_

_When they arrive home, he lets go of her hand and she immediately finds herself missing his warm touch._

_“It’s late, we should probably get some sleep,” he says, already walking upstairs. She follows him without a second thought. “We’ll need to put together reports on what we learned about the neighbors for Finn, Rose, and the others at HQ to review. We can probably do that tomorrow.”_

_“Okay.”_

_Poe sits down at the end of the bed and runs his hands through his hair._

_She stands at the doorway of the bedroom unsure what to say or do as her anxiety once again rises at the thought of sharing a bed with Poe for a third night. The kiss from earlier also does nothing to abate her nerves, nor the fact this is probably their reality for the next several weeks._

_He looks up at her with a tired expression on his face before smiling weakly. “If you want to change, you can take the bathroom first.”_

_She nods, grabs her pajamas and heads into the bathroom._

_“Your turn,” she remarks quietly when she finishes and returns to the bedroom. Poe nods and already has changed into a t-shirt and shorts. Neither speaks as he goes into the bathroom to wash up while she hops into bed. Finishing up in the bathroom, he shuts off the light and climbs into the other side of the bed, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling._

_Rey watches him for several moments and it feels like there is a world of space between them._

_“You okay?” she whispers, lying on her side facing him._

_Poe rolls over on his side to face her. The expression on his face is unreadable and it makes her more nervous._

_“Yeah. Just trying to keep everything straight.”_

_They lay there for several minutes like that, just staring at each in the dark stillness. She wants to say something, anything, but she’s unsure what to say. Instead, she reaches out with her hand and holds it out in the space between them._

_A few long seconds pass before he also reaches out takes her hand._

_She smiles weakly at his touch and intertwines her fingers with his. He caresses the back of her palm with his thumb. Their hands stay joined for several minutes as they relax into the touch. It’s slow, hypnotic and insanely intimate. Her eyes drift between their coupled hands and his eyes. He always has such kind eyes, she thinks._

_“You did good today,” murmurs Poe. His voice is soft and deeper than usual._

_“Thanks.”_

_“Should prolly get some sleep.” He slowly pulls his hand back and rolls over on his other side facing away from her._

_Rey doesn’t even try to hide the small frown that comes across her face when he lets go of her hand._

_Anxiety be damned, she eventually does fall asleep._

Rey sighs and touches her lips with her fingers. She shakes her head with a smile. Three days in and their personal and professional lines have already been completely decimated. She is in so much trouble.

Rolling out of bed, Rey changes into a pair of leggings and a t-shirt. “Poe?” she calls, tip-toeing into the bathroom looking for him to no avail. Heading downstairs, she eventually does find him at the kitchen table hunched over several stacks of papers.

“Morning,” she greets him cheerfully. 

He glances up and gives a short smile before returning to the papers in front of him. “Morning.”

“I woke up and you were gone. What time did you get up?”

He looks up at the clock on the wall. “About two hours ago.”

“And you didn’t wake me?!”

“You looked so peaceful sleeping so I figured you could use the extra rest.”

He doesn’t look up when he says it, but Rey blushes anyway and ducks her head. Normally she is the morning person in their relationship, _No...their partnership,_ but much of that has to do with her strict alarm schedule and mainlining of caffeine. She sits down across from him and pokes at the papers sprawled over the table.

“What are you working on?” 

“Case reports from the party yesterday,” he sighs. “There is a lot of data here that Finn, Rose and the rest of the team will need to track down and confirm. Did you know Ezra was on a case where his entire legal team was investigated for legal malpractice?”

“Really? That is surprising.”

“Yeah.”

Rey’s face scrunches as he works. “Need any help then?”

He looks up taking a survey of the table. “I think I’m good actually. Almost done.” Smiling he adds, “Why don’t you go make some breakfast? There are some eggs in the refrigerator.” 

_Oh god no._

“Um…” she stutters. 

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she lies, getting up and heading into the kitchen.

No, she is most definitely not okay. She has no idea how to cook anything, let alone eggs. All her meals usually involve the microwave, heating water, or ordering out. She is not about to tell him that though, lest he thinks she is some kind of uncivilized heathen. Besides, how hard could making a few eggs be? All she needs to do is find some directions online, maybe a YouTube video or two and bam, eggs for breakfast coming right up. 

Googling _“how to make scrambled eggs?”_ , Rey finds what looks like to be a simple enough set of instructions. Five minutes of fumbling around the kitchen later, she even finds the right pans, bowls and utensils. 

Following the instructions, Rey breaks six eggs into the bowl. Then she adds some milk, cheese, and finally some pepper. She bounces back and forth between each step, comparing the contents of her bowl with the pictures on the instructions. When satisfied, she begins stirring and beating the eggs with a fork until fully mixed. 

Because she is so focused on the task at hand, Rey doesn’t Poe finish up at the table and come into the kitchen. He watches her work as she sprays the pan on the stove with some of the non-stick spray stuff. Picking up the bowl she flips back and forth between the instructions on her phone, the bowl and the pan.

_Okay, so do I just pour the whole thing into the pan? These stupid directions don’t say!_

_“_ You don’t know how to make eggs?” Poe’s voice whispers behind her. His tone is both a question and a statement. 

“Gaah,” she flinches, turning around to find him standing next to the sink with a smug grin on his face. “No, no. I do. It’s just been a while you see and I um...I didn’t want to mess it up...for you. And...” She’s rambling and yeah, judging by the growing expression on his face, he’s definitely not buying it.

Blushing, she turns around quickly and furrows her brow. 

_I can do this. I can do this._ _It’s just eggs._

Poe comes up behind her and puts a hand on hers which is currently fidgeting on the bowl. 

“Let me,” he says.

She turns her head to find him smiling at her warmly. Her breath hitches at the contact of his hand, her mind instantly racing back to their joined hands the night before. Rey’s so taken back in the moment, she ducks to the side and let’s him take over. 

“Thanks,” she murmurs in embarrassment.

“No problem,” he chuckles. “Why don’t you put some plates on the table.” 

She didn’t have the heart to tell him it’s not just eggs that she doesn’t know how to cook.

***

Poe begins to understand what is meant by the honeymoon phase. That period at the beginning of the marriage where everything is great and both husband and wife are riding high on love and euphoria. Those were simpler times. 

The honeymoon phase officially ends for Poe and Rey on day 4. 

It turns out, despite spending 10-12 hours working with Rey every day over the last two years, there was still a lot he didn’t know about her. 

It starts out innocently enough (it always does) when he suggests they agree to a simple routine to balance the practical and logistical aspects of keeping up their cover as a married couple while doing their actual jobs of investigating the neighbors. This turns into a complete disaster when they try to assign house chores culminating with the two arguing about the right way to clean the kitchen counters.

By day 5, it was clear Rey was no Martha Stewart. Several more arguments later about vacuuming the living room and she decides to go for a run around the block to cool off and check on things. 

By day 6, he tried leaving written instructions for her when he left to meet up with Finn. Unsurprisingly, that only made things much worse. 

The one positive side to the whole ordeal was that their frequent sparing made it easier for Poe to suppress all his other feelings about her that were not going away any time soon. Unfortunately, sleeping next to Rey every night, despite the space between them, doesn’t help. He can still remember the taste of her lips. The feeling of his arms wrapped around her waist.

Who is he kidding? He even likes it a little when they argue, her face flushed as she berates him with silly insults. 

_Yep, still screwed._

Now day 7, Maz had decided to drop by to check-in on them. Technically, Maz was also kind of their boss but she ultimately reported to the Director as well. He originally explained the dichotomy to Rey that the Director handles the case planning, interagency bureaucracies, and budgeting, while Maz oversees more of the day-to-day operations of active operations.

“So how are you two doing?” asks Maz. 

They are sitting at the kitchen table with Maz on one side and Rey and Poe seated next to each other on the other side. Despite knowing the woman for almost six years now, why does it always feel like he’s a kid who has been called to the principal's office every time they talk?

“We’re great,” says Poe.

Rey nods, “Yep.”

Maz looks between them for a moment before continuing. “Finn and Rose reviewed the case reports and surveillance you have been sending over. There are a few threads we need to follow up on our side, but we also need you two to get closer to some of the neighbors.”

“Sure, who?”

“Start with the Bridgers, Ezra and Sabine,” Maz says, opening a file in front of her. “We don’t think there is anything there but this report of a previous malpractice investigation coupled with some financial irregularities could be clues to something more.”

“Okay, I think we can work with that.” Rey turns to him. “Maybe I can get us invited over to their house for dinner sometime?”

“That works.”

Maz nods. “Good. Next, we have Armitage and Phoebe Hux. Something weird is definitely going on, their finances are all over the place and the information you two have gathered thus far has provided very little additional insight.” 

“I’ll see what we can do,” says Poe.

“Good that’s it for now, but…” 

“That's it?” Interrupts Rey. “What about Kyle Ren?”

“What about him?”

“I don’t know, the guy was giving me the creeps the other day at the party.” 

A contemplative look comes over Maz’s face. “We haven’t found anything out of the ordinary on our side, but if you feel something is amiss I suggest you find a way to look into it further.”

“Okay.”

“Getting back to what I was asking earlier…” Maz folds her arms in her lap. “What is really going on with you two?”

Poe shifts in his seat nervously. “Nothing.”

“Nothing,” Rey repeats. 

Maz looks at them like they are kids who got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. 

“Okay, fine,” relents Poe. _God, it is impossible to keep anything from this woman._ “We may be going through some logistical difficulties with upkeeping the house, but it’s no big deal.”

“No big deal?!” exclaims Rey, turning to him. “You freaked out yesterday when I did the laundry for no reason.”

_Oh, here we go._

“Okay, listen here Maz,” he turns between the two. “She put her dark cold clothes in with my whites. Now I have purple undershirts!” 

“Okay first, they are not purple,” huffs Rey. “ Second, it was only one load. It was like a few socks, a shirt and my leggings. It wasn’t a whole mess of clothes.” 

Poe rolls his eyes. “Okay okay, how about the fact you never use fabric softener?” 

“You know fabric softener is a hoax right? It’s just some corporate bullshit from P&G to get you to spend more money.” She waves her index finger at him in a way that he finds far too cute.

Poe swats her finger playfully with a grin. “Alright forget the laundry. How about the fact I have to cook all the meals around here because my _wife_ somehow made it 25 years on this planet and can only make oatmeal, tea, coffee, ramen, and now finally eggs!”

“You listen here _...”_ She’s sitting up on her legs in the chair now. “Just because I have no interest in cooking doesn’t mean I’m unable. I can learn! Besides, when my _husband_ told me he watches cooking shows to unwind after work, I thought he was joking. I didn’t realize I married Gordon Ramsey’s apprentice over here!”

“Puh-lease woman for all your complaining I don’t see you exactly turning down any of the meals I make.

“Ugh,” She groans, a grin on her face. “You know what you are?”

“What?” 

“You’re difficult. Really difficult” 

“You…” 

“You are a difficult man.”

“You’re…mmm...” he moans, shaking his head. 

“Wow,” interrupts Maz. “You two have really gotten into playing the role of a married couple. Very authentic, right down the bickering.” 

They stare at each other for several seconds before slouching back down in their chairs. Poe folds his arms over his chest and tries to ignore the euphoric rush of adrenaline in his gut. 

“Good. Now, if there is nothing else I suggest you two focus on getting us some intel on your neighbors that we can actually use.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the support thus far! Hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Next Chapter: The Dinner


	4. The Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Poe get to know the Bridgers and each other.

After Maz left, Rey and Poe spent the remainder of the day staying focused on work. Poe took to the task of surveilling Armitage Hux for the remainder of the day while Rey went for a run around the neighborhood and stopped by the Bridger’s house to small talk with Sabine in hopes of getting invited over for dinner. When that didn't pan out, she decided to head to the gun range and let off some steam. 

By the time she got back later that evening, Poe had left a dinner plate in the refrigerator complete with meatloaf, green beans and noodles. She smiles. He’s always so caring, even when they argue.

Rey finds him in their bedroom reading on the bed. 

“Hey,” she says with a short smile. 

Poe looks up from his book. “Hey, there you are.”

“What did you miss me?” she teases.

He rolls his eyes. “How did it go today?” 

“Alright. I poked around Ren’s back yard a bit on my run today but I didn’t find anything unusual.” She heads into the bathroom to wash up and change into her pajamas. “I also stopped by the Bridger’s to talk with Sabine. No luck yet, but I’m still working on getting us an invite to their place for dinner some time.” Exiting the bathroom, she slides under the covers but sits up on her side of the bed.

“Sounds good,” nods Poe, setting his book down on the nightstand and turning to her. “Just be careful with Ren okay? If you are right about him, the last thing we need is him or one of the other neighbors catching you snooping around his place.” 

“I’ll be careful.”

“Good.” 

She pauses for a few seconds before asking, “How was the rest of your day?”

“Fine. I followed Armitage to a WeWork building where he apparently has office space. Finn is going to get us a warrant since our existing one for their homes doesn’t cover it.” 

Another awkward silence comes between them as they both struggle to keep eye contact. “I’m sorry…” they say simultaneously. She ducks her head and tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You go first.” 

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he says with a timid smile. His eyes are tired but there is a gentle sincerity in his voice. “I realize this isn’t easy for either of us, but Sunshine, I hope you know I’m not upset with you.” His eyes shift again and _is he blushing?_ “I’ll try and be more accommodating about things, but we need to be on the same page...for the mission.”

“For the mission,” Rey repeats softly.

Poe nods. “No matter what is going on out there…” Motioning outside he continues, “You and I need to be honest with each other in here.” He holds out his hand. She quickly takes it into her own. Their fingers thread through one another with ease and her stomach flutters at his warm touch. It feels just as good now as it did when they were in bed together earlier in the week. After the party. After they... _kissed_. 

“Okay,” she whispers, squeezing his hand. 

“Okay.” 

Several seconds or several minutes later (she loses track), he releases their hands, shuts off the light and lies down in the bed on his side facing her. She follows suit but lays down closer to him with only a few inches of space between them. 

His gaze is soft and affectionate. Her heart is pounding out of her chest. It feels like they are on a collision course that will only end badly. But she isn’t thinking about any of that. Not now. Not when it feels like this. Poe sighs and rolls over on his back. Rey watches his chest rise and fall as she slowly drifts into sleep. 

***

In the following days, their evenings become a refuge from the job with which they are tasked.

They try to make it a point to eat dinner together every night. They sit up against each other on the couch while watching TV. They lie in bed together so close, Poe can feel the heat radiating from Rey’s body. They don’t need to be doing any of this, not when no one is watching them. They don’t need to pretend for the sake of their cover. But they do it all anyway, neither willing to admit this unspoken thing that continues to grow between them.

The logical part of Poe’s brain knows they are playing with fire. There is no scenario in which any of this is a good idea. He's like a fool seeking to pluck the stars from the heavens; his feelings for Rey Smith anything but logical. The more they continue to let it grow, the closer the unsaid boundaries each of them have constructed get tested. 

One night on the couch they end up snuggling against each other for warmth after having ice cream for dessert. When Rey looks up at him with her beautiful hazel green eyes and inches closer, it takes all of his willpower to turn away. 

This morning was perhaps the worst. He came downstairs to find her sitting outside on the porch in a lovely beige sweater and smiling widely, the morning light practically making her glow. Sunshine - her name couldn’t have been more apropos. After ogling her for a good three minutes, Rey did let him know Sabine had texted and they had finally scored an invite over the Bridger’s house for dinner this evening.

Right. 

Work. 

They stuck to their routine the remainder of the day until the evening came and they needed to get ready for dinner. Rey once again caused him to make a complete fool of himself (this was becoming a habit) when she finished changing into a green mini dress with sleeves that came down just below her shoulders and flat wedge heels that put her directly at his height. 

“Are you okay?” she asks, noticing him drift off and tucking against his side as they wait on the Bridger’s front porch. 

Poe shakes himself back to the present and gently squeezes her waist with a smile. “Absolutely.” 

_And maybe that was part of the problem._

The door opens several seconds later and Ezra greets them. “Hey there, come in!” 

The Bridger’s house is nice. Really nice. Fancy furniture, expensive-looking art on the walls, and ornate light fixtures make it look like a model home out of HGTV. When they enter the kitchen, Sabine is waiting for them. 

“Ah welcome!” she says huddled over what looks like the section of the counter cordoned off as the designated liquor area. “Can I get you two anything to drink? I make a fantastic margarita if I do say so myself.”

“She really does,” laughs Ezra. “You should definitely try it.”

Poe and Rey look at one another and she grins at him. He shrugs, “Sure why not?”

“Excellent!” Sabine cheers as she begins to make two margaritas. “I have the food in the oven now, it will probably be another five to ten minutes if that is okay.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” 

“Great, that will give us a chance to catch up. How are you two doing with the move?”

“Well, it’s definitely an adjustment that’s for sure,” he sighs, glancing over at Rey who has a mischievous grin on her face. “I don’t think either of us are quite used to living with each other…”

“In such a big house.” Rey quickly interjects.

“Right. Back in Coruscant, we had this condo which was relatively small by comparison and we were working so much that it felt like we were never home. You know how city life is,” he nods to Ezra.

“Oh yeah, definitely.” 

Sabine hands Poe and Rey their drinks before he continues. 

“Anyway, so it's just about getting used to things now and finding a new routine.” 

Poe takes a sip of the drink which is actually quite good as Rey leans against him again. The warm soft feeling of her pressed against him is maddening. 

“Fantastic,” Sabine says, opening the oven to check on the food. “So tell me Rey because I don’t think you did the other day at the party, how did you two meet?” 

She turns to Poe and smiles. “Well, it's a bit of a cliche but we met at work.”

“Yeah” 

“He was working at his desk looking all busy and his boss comes in and introduces me as the accountant for an outside firm helping with an audit”

“Hey. I was actually busy!” jokes Poe. 

“Right” laughs Ezra with a wink. 

“Anyway, it wasn’t always the most glamorous, but the long days working together led to long nights, which then led to early mornings if you know what I mean,” laughs Rey. “Next thing you know, this goofball is down on one knee proposing to me in our office!” 

“WAIT WHAT!” shrieks Sabine. “Poe, you proposed in your office?!”

He shrugs and looks from Sabine to Rey. “Yeah. It was an in the moment thing. A feeling that I didn’t want to wait any longer. I was keeping the ring with me so I figured why not here? Why not now? You know?” 

They are staring at each other and Poe can’t help but be mesmerized by her beautiful eyes and incandescent smile. It’s actually crazy how easily they were able to fit their actual meeting and faux proposal into their background as cover. 

_The best way to tell a lie, after all, is to tell most of the truth._

“How about a real test of love then?” Ezra teases. “Rey, do you remember what Poe was wearing the day you met?”

“Dark grey suit, light blue shirt, and a matching orange tie and socks.” 

She blushes and answers so quickly Poe’s jaw nearly hits the floor. 

“Wow that was impressive,” he says, still stunned. _She actually remembered…_

“And Rey,” asks Sabine to Poe. “What was she wearing?”

_This is starting to get way too real way too fast._

“Come on now, are you trying to get me in trouble with my wife? There is no possible way…” his voice trails off when Rey’s smile starts to fade and she ducks her head to take a sip of her drink. 

_She’s disappointed_ . 

_She’s disappointed because she thinks I don’t care. That I don’t_ feel the same way. 

“Black pants, dark green blouse with a matching black jacket over her right shoulder. Hair tied up in a single bun.” 

He recites it instantly from memory. How could he forget? The day he met Rey Smith is the day everything changed for him. 

She looks up at him again and the look on her face is pure joy. He nearly loses it right there seeing so much happiness in her eyes. And in case it wasn’t obvious the first thousand times, he is still completely screwed when it comes to her.

“You two are too cute,” Sabine chuckles.

“Mostly her,” he murmurs into his drink just loud enough for Rey to hear as he takes another sip. 

“So when did you then know it was love?” asks Ezra. 

Poe blushes even harder and opens his mouth but he’s unable to find any words. Thankfully, the timer on the oven goes off indicating dinner is ready. He is not very religious, but Poe sends a very big _thank you_ to God or whatever other deities might exist in the universe for saving him from having to answer that question. Quite literally saved by the bell.

***

The remainder of the dinner goes smoothly. They make small talk, swap stories, and drink. Turns out the Bridger’s really like pushing drinks on them. By the end of her third cocktail, Rey’s head is actually starting to spin a bit. Not a good look when you are technically undercover “working.”

She holds onto Poe’s hand for support under the table when the food comes. She pulls his hand to rest on her thigh between courses. The feeling of his hand against her soft skin sends chills down her spine. 

Despite these distractions, they are able to learn more about the Bridger’s. 

Sabine is actually an artist, which probably explains the eclectic collection of art in their home. Apparently, she is also pretty well known in the art world where she goes by the pseudonym Ria Talla. Sabine’s family, the Wren’s, were also fairly wealthy and left her a notable inheritance. Perhaps these things explain some of the irregularities Maz had noted in their finances. Rey hopes so at least, she likes the Bridgers. 

When they finish with dinner, Rey and Poe accept an invitation for a tour of the house to see their art collection. Truthfully, neither of them knows the first thing about art, but a tour of the house provides them more opportunities to gather intel. Most of the works in the Bridger’s collection use bold colors and rough surfaces. Street art, she is told is the layman’s term for it. 

When they are finished with the tour, Poe excuses himself to the bathroom. He leans in and presses a gentle kiss to her cheek while whispering, “I saw what looked to be an office. Try and keep them busy while I take a look around.” 

Rey blushes and tries to keep her personal feelings and professional responsibilities in check. 

Ezra also excuses himself to finish cleaning the kitchen which leaves Rey sitting alone in the living room with Sabine.

“You two really are amazing together,” Sabine comments with a sly smile. 

“Thank you,” grins Rey. 

“You know, Ezra and I have found sometimes when there is that much love in a relationship, it can be really healthy to share it with others.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, You see...” Sabine goes off talking in metaphors and hyperboles that make no sense. Rey is only partially paying attention as every minute that passes by she grows more nervous that Poe has yet to return. What is he doing? You can only use a bathroom excuse for so long before it starts to get weird and people wonder what’s up. God forbid Ezra goes knocking on the bathroom door and finds Poe missing. How would that play out?

Rey’s nerves must really be getting to her, because she starts shaking her knee, causing Sabine to put a steady hand on her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” 

“Oh um,” Rey flails, still completely clued out to whatever Sabine was rambling about. “That’s fine I’m good.”

“Excellent. Well, I won’t beat around the bush any more then,” smiles Sabine warmly. “Are you and Poe in an open relationship?”

“Pardon - a what?”

“An open relationship,” repeats Sabine with a straight face. “Ezra and I are in an open relationship and I mean this in the most respectful way possible, I would be very interested in swinging with both you and Poe...at the same time.” 

_WHAT?!_

“Uhhh….” stutters Rey, mouth ajar in shock. Is she serious? “You want…a threesome?” 

“Is that so hard to believe?” Sabine winks and smiles. “You are a very pretty woman and I don’t need to tell you Poe is...well...you know.” Rey can hardly believe what she is hearing as Sabine presses on. “I’m flexible to do it any way that might interest you and Poe. Ezra would be interested to watch as well if that is something you two would okay with. Or not, that is also fine.” 

In all the different scenarios that played out in Rey’s head when she was first given this assignment of going undercover as Poe’s wife, being propositioned into a threesome by one of their neighbors definitely was not on the list. She couldn’t have even made this up. It’s crazy, right? Their neighbor wants to sleep with _her husband!_

_Her husband!_

“I um…” stammers Rey trying to find the right words. “We um...we’re committed and exclusive.”

“I understand,” nods Sabine with a tentative smile. “Not to worry, forget I said anything then.”

This is getting too awkward. She needs to get out here. Rey stands up and motions down the hall, “I’m going to go find Poe. See if he got lost.”

“Okay…”

Frantically searching different rooms, She begins looking for Poe. He said he was going to look for the office. Where was that again? After a few minutes, she eventually finds the office and opens the door to discover Poe at the desk taking photos with his phone.

“What are you doing?” she hisses.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” 

“It looks like you are about to blow our cover,” she whisper-yell while praying no one finds them here. “Besides, do you know what I have been dealing with out there while you have been away?”

“Relax. Whatever it was, I’m sure you handled it,” he grins. “I’m almost done here. Just keep an eye on the door and let me know if anyone comes okay?”

“Why do you have to be so difficult?” She cracks the door open and peers into the hallway.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah...”

He’s still taking pictures when Rey spots trouble. “Poe, Ezra is headed this way.” 

“One more minute,” he says, shuffling through papers on the desk and taking photos. 

“POE!” 

“Thirty seconds Sunshine. Almost done.”

It’s not enough time. Ezra will be here in 30 seconds. Then what? She needs to do something, anything. Her eyes dart around the room before finally resting back on Poe. 

Whether it's the four cocktails she had at dinner, his memory of the day they first met, the thought of someone else wanting _her husband_ or the thousand other things that have come to boiling point over the past two weeks, Rey does the one thing she has wanted to do for a long time: 

She throws herself at Poe and kisses him fiercely. 

“mmRe…” he mumbles into her lips at first. And then he is also kissing her back just as intensely. 

It’s weeks of pent up emotions unleashed in an instant. His lips are just as amazing as she remembers and he tastes like the several margaritas they had both consumed earlier. 

Her hands are moving up and down his chest, around the back of his neck, through his hair. Unlike their last kiss, when his lips part to give her an entrance, her tongue is quickly down his throat.

She pushes him against the desk to mess up the papers. He grabs her by the thighs, hiking up the hemline of her mini-dress even more, flips them around and sits her down on top of the desk. Leaning in, he pushes her down such that she is lying on her back. 

Poe’s hands run up and down her body from her thighs to her ass, waist, stomach and breasts. The warmth of his hands over her dress is intoxicating. They quickly gasp for air before returning to fervently swallow each other whole. When his hands finally return to her ass and squeeze tightly, Rey moans loudly into his mouth. 

A hot mess. 

It’s the only way to describe it. 

And it’s wonderful and amazing and perfect beyond belief. 

“Woah what’s…” trails off Ezra as he enters the room.

He’s stumbled into the sight of Poe all over Rey and both of them looking no more than 30 seconds away from ripping each other’s clothes off and fucking right there on his desk. 

Poe pulls away slightly, but not before kissing her softly one final time. His eyes are still ablaze and all she wants is him back on top of her, kissing her breathless. He backs up further and turns to Ezra, “Uh….sorry man...I guess we kinda got carried away.” 

Slowly extracting herself from Poe, Rey hops off the desk and straightens out her dress. 

“Sorry,” she mutters to Ezra with a sly grin, unable to look him in the eye out of embarrassment. Her lips are puffy, her heart is beating out of her chest and her face is completely flush. 

_Well, that is a lie._

Rey is feeling many things at the moment, but sorry is definitely not one of them.


	5. The Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Poe deal with the consequences of their dinner with the Bridger's.

Rey and Poe thank the Bridger’s for their hospitality and leave shortly thereafter. They hold hands but neither of them says a word or do more than glance in each other’s direction during the three-block walk back to their house. It might as well be a three-mile walk for all Rey is concerned. 

Her heart rate is still sky-high thinking back to those moments in the office. Who’s she kidding, there is no thinking back. It's literally all she can think about.  _ They kissed _ . No. That was nothing like the soft kiss they shared almost two weeks ago at the party. No. That was a full face-on-face swallowing, tongue-in-throat, hands groping, clothing coming off, make out session. 

She wanted it. He wanted it. They did it.

Period.

The excuse that they were just doing it “for their cover” is completely shattered. There is no going back and pretending everything is the same. The status quo is shot. The cat is out of the bag. The genie is out of the bottle. Whatever happens next is their new reality now. 

It’s thrilling and terrifying at the same time. 

Poe’s hand wrapped around her own is the only thing keeping her steady as they walk up their driveway to the front door. What should she say? What should she do? What would he say? What would he do? What does she want him to say or do? 

He unlocks their front door, opens it, and releases her hand allowing her to enter first. Rey takes a deep breath and steps into the house a few paces before turning around to watch Poe follow suit. He still doesn’t look at her as he turns back around and locks the door. Letting out an audible sigh, he rests his forehead against the door with his back still turned to her. 

Rey takes a step toward him and gently places a hand on his back. Even through the fabric of his shirt, her skin feels like it's on fire when she comes in contact with him. 

“ _ Please… _ ” he whispers so softly she can barely hear it.

Rey takes another step closer until she is practically right up against him. Her other hand comes up to bracket his shoulders from behind. She can see his shoulders rise and fall, as he breathes heavily and with deliberate purpose. Several seconds later, he slowly turns around. 

She doesn't step back. Every hair on her body is on edge as their eyes finally meet. His expression is a mix of pure desire and marked hesitation. 

_ He knows. _

He knows it too.  _ Everything _ is changed now.

They stay affixed like that for several moments until his hands suddenly come up around both sides of her waist. Rey’s breath audibly hitches when he grips her tightly. She has to stop herself from squealing when he spins her around such that her back is now pushed against the front door. She has no idea what he’s doing but she doesn’t care. The closeness of him is threatening to drown her in the best way possible.

He takes a final step closer to her, pushing her harder against the door as his chest presses against her breasts and his thigh presses between her legs. The friction and lack of space is amazing. A short smile grows across her face as Poe tilts his head and inches ever closer to her lips. She can feel his hot breath on her face as the space between them evaporates.

He kisses her passionately. 

It’s slower than before but still just as amazing. Rey sighs into his mouth happier than a kid on Christmas morning. His hands run up her entire body until he reaches for her own and threads their fingers together. Lifting both their arms above their heads, Poe buckles his hips and grinds harder into her against the door. She moans loudly, making uncouth sounds as he begins to work down the column of her neck. 

After several minutes, he kisses her one last time and steps back, releasing her from the door. She tries surging forward to get his lips back on hers again. He instead leans further out of her reach and rests his forehead on her own. Both of them are panting and breathing erratically.

“It’s late,” Poe murmurs. “We’re tired and we’ve been drinking.” He sighs. “We should get some sleep.”

Rey’s heart sinks a bit despite the fact he is probably right. It was late and they had been drinking. Best not to make an already impossibly complicated situation more complicated. It will keep.

“Okay.”

Poe takes her by the hand and they head up to bed. They change and prepare for sleep in silence. When he shuts off the lights and climbs into bed, Rey wastes no time eliminating the space between them. She curls up right against him, resting her head on his shoulder and draping an arm and leg across him. His arm wraps around her waist and he holds her tight.

Between the slow rhythmic rising and falling of his chest and the warmth of his embrace, she is asleep in minutes.

***

_ Was it all a dream? _

Poe stirs to find Rey wrapped around him.

_ Definitely not a dream. _

“Morning sleepyhead,” she whispers already awake. 

“Mmmm...Morning Sunshine.”

She smiles brightly and squeezes him tighter. Inching upward, she tries to reach him for a kiss, but he pulls back. 

“We should probably...um...talk,” he says, noticing the confusion and disappointment on her face.

“Okay.”

They stare at each other, but he struggles to find the right words to begin. This is what sleep and a clear head was supposed to make easier...But really, what is he supposed to say here? They kissed. No, not just kissed, but _really_ _kissed_. And if that wasn’t enough, he then somehow had the genius idea of grinding up against her on their front door while kissing her again. Even now, his lizard brain is insisting they skip talking and finish what they started back at the Bridger’s house. 

_ No, I’m not some animal. _

“So who talks first? You talk first? I talk first?” teases Rey. 

He rolls his eyes. “Aren’t you cute?” 

“You know it,” she beams. 

“I guess...” he sighs. “I guess I should start off with the obvious...and that is I have feelings for you.” He takes a deep breath before continuing, “And if the past few weeks and this time we’ve spent together are any indication, I think you also have feelings for me as well.” He pauses to gauge her reaction.  _ Never thought I would say that out loud... _

When Rey slowly nods he presses on, “Last night was...last night was…”

“Awesome? Amazing? Spectacular?” 

“Yes, all those things,” he chuckles, gently squeezing her. “But our situation is...well...it’s complicated and I don’t want to see you hurt.” 

‘I don’t think you would hurt me Poe,” she says in a serious tone. 

“Maybe not intentionally,” he sighs, “But you know there are very strict rules about...these sorts of things.” He motions to them lying in bed together. “We are literally the text-book example OPR uses for defining inappropriate interagency fraternization.”

(OPR or the Office of Professional Responsibility was the division of the FBI which reviewed the conduct of the Bureau and its agents. The FBI changed the name of the division several years ago from the more commonly known “Internal Affairs” because it felt “OPR” had a more positive connotation to it.)

“Okay, so what does that mean?”

“It means there is no scenario in which this ends well for either of us,” frowns Poe. “We could be kicked out of the Bureau or reassigned to some shit assignment like...I don’t know...art theft. They would railroaded both of us to the point we’d be forced to resign.” A somber look comes across his face. “Or even worse, you know there are still backward thinking people at the Bureau who are, quite frankly, sexist. They could try to run you out and shield me. I would never let them do that, but I’ve heard of things like it happening before.”

“So what are you saying?” she asks with a forlorn expression that nearly breaks his heart. “Are you saying we can’t…”

“No!” he interrupts and louder than intended. “Sorry...I mean no.” 

God this is all too complicated. 

“I just think we need to be smart about... _ this _ . And careful.”

“I’m not following, what are you suggesting?”

“I think we have a job to do and that we need to stay focused on that. He smiles weakly trying to reassure her. “So for now, I think we just take it slow and focus on the work. We’ll deal with what comes next when the time comes.”

“Take it slow?” she asks with a smirk, leaning forward again. This time he doesn’t pull away.

“Yeah,” he whispers as their lips meet.

They kiss lazily in bed for several minutes while enjoying the comfort of their bodies intertwined with one another.

That is until Rey’s stomach growls. 

“Well,” he laughs. “I guess I better go make my  _ wife _ some breakfast.” 

Rey giggles and rapidly kisses him a dozen more times before finally letting him up and out of bed. 

***

The next few days pass by without much excitement. It turns out Poe was pretty serious about taking things slow. They go about their days much like they had in the past with the only notable differences coming in the evenings they share together. 

Watching TV on the couch quickly descends into makeout sessions when Rey climbs on top of him and kisses him breathless. They go to sleep in each other's arms every night. In the mornings, they wake up wrapped around one another and she smiles more content than at any point she can remember. 

They go on like this for several days. He doesn’t accelerate things and surprisingly neither does she. It feels good to just be here, with him, together. It’s like an invisible weight has been lifted off her shoulders and she feels more carefree.

Another benefit of their evening with Bridger’s comes when Rose passes word that the information they gathered all checks out and they can cross Sabine and Ezra off as suspects. Despite the awkwardness of Sabine propositioning her and  _ her husband _ for a threesome, Rey actually really likes the Bridger’s. Ruling them out as suspects means that almost the entire neighborhood has now been cleared. The notable exception that still vexes her is Kyle Ren. She still feels something is off with him but can't determine whether it is something illegal or if he is just a weirdo who creeps on other people’s wives.  _ Or both. _ Technically, both can be true.

Rey and Poe catch another break when the warrant for the Hux’s WeWork space is finally approved. They decide to go check out the office using their cover, that way if they end up finding anything no one will know they were there. Finn and Rose hang back to keep an eye on the Hux’s.

“Good afternoon,” greets Poe to the WeWork front-desk receptionist. “My company is looking to expand into this area and we are interested in possibly renting some office space. Is there anyone I can talk to for a tour?”

“Absolutely,” smiles the receptionist. “One minute, let me find a leasing specialist for you.”

A few minutes later an older woman approaches. 

“Hello, I am Amilyn Holdo. I’m told you want to discuss leasing office space in this building?”

“Yes,” Poe replies, shaking her hand. “I’m Poe Dameron, this is my wife Rey.” She smiles pleasantly in response while he hands Holdo his business card. “I’m VP of Logistics for Resistance Industries and we’re looking at relocating several folks out here for a satellite office. I was hoping you could show us what spaces you had available?” 

“Absolutely, this way.”

Holdo shows them several office spaces, the conference rooms, and shared space common areas. Rey and Poe play the part of feigning interest, asking questions and keeping the tour moving. When Holdo asks if they want to discuss pricing, that’s when Rey knows it's time to cut bait and get down to business.

“Before we talk numbers, would it be possible for my husband and I to just walk around the space on our own?” She smiles. “Just so we can get a feel for it ourselves.” 

“Well, I…” 

“Please,” adds Poe. “It would help us make a decision.”

Holdo sighs, “Very well. Come downstairs when you are finished and we can discuss terms.”

As soon as Holdo leaves, they get to work. 

“What office is the Hux’s?” he asks.

“34B” 

He checks the floor plan layout and guides them down a series of halls until they arrive at the office. Using a master keycard Finn provided them, he unlocks the door and they enter the room. It’s honestly not much to look at, maybe 250 square feet in total with two desks, some filing cabinets, and storage boxes. 

“You take the cabinets and I’ll take the desks?” 

“Sure” she nods.

They go through the space trying to be as careful as possible not to disturb anything and put things back just the way they find them. Most of what they find is boring paperwork which includes Phoebe’s designs for jewelry and materials receipts. 

“So…What do you think of the Hux’s?” Rey asks to break the silence of their search.

“I don’t know.”

“Sure you do,” she laughs. “You must have some inclination?”

“You know me. I trust everyone - it’s the devil inside them I don’t trust,” he says with a wink.

“Right...”

Rey finishes going through the filing cabinet until she comes across the final drawer which is locked with a mini-padlock. Is it odd to have only one drawer in the cabinet locked? 

“Hey” she signals, “Check this out. Does that look odd to you?”

“Not really, maybe there is some extra sensitive stuff inside?”

“You want to do the honors?”

“Sure,” he grins, bending down and taking out a toolkit from his back pocket. Ten seconds later, he picks the padlock and the drawer pops open. “All yours Sunshine,” he says, standing back up and pecking a kiss on her cheek. 

She can’t help but blush. “Thank you.”

Rey sits back down and starts going through the files in the drawer. There are a lot of files and by the looks of it…

“So, are you going to leave me in the dark?” he asks with a chuckle.

“They are shipping and ordering receipts” she murmurs, only half listening as her brain scans the files. “Something is weird here though.”

“How so?”

“Not sure.”

Poe’s phone buzzes. 

“Shit, Finn says Armitage is on his way and he will be here in 15 minutes.”

She is only a quarter of the way through the files in the drawer. “Here,” she says, grabbing a stack of the papers. “Help me take photos of these.” They frantically begin to take as many photos as possible. “Maybe we can try to come back later?”

Poe shakes his head. “Unlikely, I highly doubt Holdo is going to give us another tour. Unless…”

She stops for a second and looks over at him. He has a grin on his face as he snaps a few more photos with his phone. 

“Unless what?”

“Unless we actually rent out some space here,” he laughs. “Can you imagine asking Maz for a couple of thousand dollars to rent an office here?”

“You can have that conversation. You are the senior field agent after all,” she says sarcastically.

“Gee thanks.” Poe’s phone buzzes again. “5 minutes. Come on we need to get this stuff back in the drawer.” 

Carefully, they place the papers back into the folders and the folders back in the drawer the way they found it. Suddenly she wishes she had a better memory because she can’t remember which direction the folders were supposed to be facing. 

“Common we gotta go,” hisses Poe. “He’s going to be here any minute.” 

Fuck it. She chooses a direction, locks the drawer and they scurry out of the office. Except now they have another problem. They are the only people in this empty hallway and Armitage will most assuredly see them. Her mind races trying to figure out what to do until Poe grabs her hand and pulls her into one of the small privacy phone-booth style work pods and closes the door. 

They can hear a set of footsteps approaching from the other end of the hall but Rey is suddenly more focused on the fact she is pressed right up against Poe in this booth. His arms are holding her close and when she looks up, she sees softness in his eyes.  _ This is ridiculous _ . They are hiding out in a booth to avoid being seen by Armitage but the only thing on her mind is... _ yep. _

She kisses him. 

His hands wrap around her waist as her tongue nips at his bottom lip for access to his mouth. He gladly grants her access and she pushes him back against the wall harder so that she can get more tension grinding up against him. When they hear Armitage enter the office with his keycard, neither of them chooses to slow down. It’s only five minutes later when Poe finally breaks away that they stop.

“We should probably...um…” He stutters breathlessly.

“Right,” she blushes.

Work. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading. Apologies I haven't been updating my other fics, I just haven't been in a good headspace for writing the past few weeks. Hoping to maybe breakthrough soon. <3


	6. The Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Poe investigate a lead and further contend with the complexities of their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is mostly plot set up as we near the end so please be patient with me!

Poe comes down the stairs in a hurry.

“Hey,” he says. “Just got a call from Finn. The NSA finally tracked one of the IP addresses of the hack to a warehouse not too far from here. They want us to go investigate and help back up Finn and Rose.” 

“Okay,” she responds, getting up from the table and putting away the photocopies of the Hux’s files she had been studying.

He runs into the basement and grabs two gym bags hidden behind the washing machine. Putting them in the trunk of their car, he texts Finn that they would be there in twenty minutes. Rey comes racing out of the house and slides into the passenger seat. He takes the driver's seat, starts the car, and quickly pulls out of their driveway. As Rey helps navigate them to the warehouse, he can’t help but be a little excited. As great as it was to be undercover with Rey these past few weeks, and it was exceptionally great, the chance to do actual FBI work again is exciting.

Poe parks behind Finn two blocks away from the warehouse.

“So, what do we got?” he asks as he and Rey both begin to gear up using the equipment in their trunk. They first put their badges around their necks, then strap-on bullet-proof vests, and finally Glocks. 

“Not much. Rose took a quick peek from the building across the street and it looks like the warehouse might be abandoned,” states Finn. 

Poe nods. “Alright, how do you want to do this?”

“Why don’t you and Rey come in from the east side of the building and Rose and I will clear from the west side. We can meet in the middle.”

“Sounds good.”

They position themselves at the door on the east side of the building and wait for Finn’s go-ahead. Poe takes the lead because he always breaches first. Call it experience, chivalry, or something else, _probably something else these days_ , but he always feels more comfortable breaching first. 

“You ready?” he asks, glancing over his shoulder with a grin. 

“You know it.” smiles Rey.

“ _3, 2, 1...execute_ ,” rings Finn’s voice over the radio. 

Poe kicks down the door and enters the warehouse with Rey right behind him. There are rows of shelving in every direction and he motions to Rey for them to split up and go down parallel aisles. The shelves seem to be mostly empty or lined with manufacturing leftovers from whatever this space was used for in the past. The amount of dust and dirt built up makes it seem like it's been a few decades at least. 

As he works to the center of the warehouse, Poe eventually finds several old desks pushed together. Finn and Rose both arrive several seconds later.

“All clear on our end,” remarks Rose. 

He nods while inspecting the desks further. There are rectangular dust outlines indicating something must have been placed here recently. Bending down to take a closer look, he is interrupted by the sound of Rey’s voice in the distance.

“FBI STOP!”

The sound of her voice echoing through the warehouse.

Instantly, Poe, Finn and Rose begin running to the source of the sound. 

They hear several gunshots and Poe breaks out into a full sprint. “REY?!” he shouts. 

Running up and down the aisles as fast as he can, he searches for her. When he finally finds her, his stomach lurches and he holds his breath.

She’s hunched over on the ground.

“Rey?! No, no no! Fuck, shit, shit, shit!” 

He curses, running and kneeling down over her while calling for paramedics over the radio.

“Ugh, I’m fine,” she moans, rolling over on her back and finally letting him get a good look at her. “Got me in the vest.” He looks down and sure enough, two 9mm slugs are nestled into the vest on the right side of her torso. “He got away that way,” she points. “Go…”

Poe shakes his head and fights back tears as he puts one hand on her forehead and another on her stomach. “Don’t worry about it Sunshine, just stay still. Help is on the way.” 

Finn and Rose arrive a second later. 

“Shit. Is she okay?” Finn asks.

“Yeah, a suspect ran out that way, probably long gone. Paramedics are in-route.”

Finn and Rose run in the direction he indicated while Rey squirms on the ground in discomfort.

“Help me up,” groans Rey as she reaches for him.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I’m fine, just help me up.”

_And she calls me the difficult one?_

Poe grabs her by the waist and bends over slightly so her arm can rest around his shoulders. He helps her walk slowly and by the time they get outside the ambulance has already arrived. Setting her down in the back of the ambulance, the paramedics begin to take a look at Rey’s injuries despite her protests. 

“I’m fine,” she complains.

The last time Rey insisted she was fine was when one of the Russian mobsters they were investigating nearly cut her arm open. She complained all the way to the hospital while bleeding into his jacket turned tourniquet. Twelve stitches later and a flattering scare on her right bicep was all he needed to know her pain threshold was far too high for his liking. 

“Stay,” he says in the most authoritative voice he can muster while pointing at her. “You’re going to let the paramedics check you out. That’s an order.” 

He stomps off to find Finn and Rose inside the warehouse. Reviewing the scene further doesn’t produce any additional answers. Whatever the perpetrators were using this warehouse for it was temporary at best. They must have brought in their own equipment, probably mobile, and set up shop for a few days. This would have allowed them to easily come and go undetected since no one cares about a rundown warehouse. Furthermore, any high-end equipment drawing a lot of power would just be seen on the power grid as a new owner had taken over the property. He had to hand it to them, it was a pretty smart plan.

Once they finish inside, he returns to check on Rey in the ambulance.

“So, what’s the damage?” 

She props herself up from the gurney with a smile. “I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Would you please tell him I’m fine?.”

“A few bruises, but no serious injuries,” confirms one of the paramedics.

“Alright then,” Poe says with a relieved expression on his face. She slides off the gurney and he rushes over to help.

“Can we go home now?” 

“Yeah, I finished up inside with Finn and Rose. They can finish up from here.”

***

After they get home, Poe cooks dinner and insists she rests in bed. 

Part of her really doesn’t want the coddling -- her injuries really aren’t that bad. Admittedly, it is adorable watching him work though. Resting in bed has other advantages too when he shows up with a tray full of food. Rey has heard of breakfast-in-bed, but this dinner-in-bed thing isn’t so bad either. 

She changes into her pajamas while he cleans up dinner and takes care of a few work things in the basement. By the time he returns to the bedroom she is already tucked under the covers. 

“There you were giving me a hard time about resting in bed and now look at you,” he jokes. 

“I may have been more tired than I realized,” she says defiantly. 

“Right.”

He begins to change into his sleepwear right there in the room in front of her. It’s amazing how much things have changed in the past few weeks. She doesn’t even pretend to hide her interest when she overtly ogles him with a sly smile as he removes garments. Giving her a knowing look, he finishes changing hops into bed. 

Despite being tired, it's much too early to go to sleep. Poe seems to have similar thoughts when he reaches over to her. Giddy with excitement, she snuggles into his arms. Less than a minute later they are lazily kissing in bed. 

“I was worried today,” he admits, pulling away slightly and caressing her cheek. “I was...I was really worried.”

She sighs. “Poe, I’m fine. Besides…” She kisses him softly on the lips. “We both know I’ve been in worse jams than that.” 

“That’s the problem.” His expression shifts and she can see a weighty look in his eyes. “Because of...this thing between us now, I’m not used to feeling like this.”

“Like what?” 

“Afraid,” he whispers. “When I heard those gunshots go off today and then saw you lying on the floor I was more afraid than I can ever remember being. I was so focused on you, I didn’t bother clearing the rest of the room.”

“Poe, I…”

“Please, let me finish.” 

She nods. 

“Just the thought of losing you today...I-I…”

_Is he going to…?_

“I care about you. And I don’t like the thought of losing you.” 

Rey smiles timidly. “I care about you too.” 

Leaning forward once more, she kisses him passionately. He deepens the kiss and begins to move from her lips to her cheek to her neck. She moans as his kisses start slow and gradually become stronger. When he slides his tongue down the full column of her neck she curls her toes in pleasure. He grips her tighter and tries to pull her even closer but she whimpers aloud, “Ouch!” 

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he says, pulling away from her a bit. “Did I hurt you?”

“I’m fine,” she pants, “It’s just my back is a little sore.”

“Here, let me see?”

Rey rolls over on her stomach and lifts the back of her shirt up. Poe reaches forward and gently rests his hand on her bare skin. Her breath hitches at the warmth of his touch. Slowly, he begins to massage her back. 

“Is this okay?” 

“Mmm yeah,” she murmurs pleasantly, more focused on his hands running circle patterns into her skin. “Don’t stop.” 

Sliding his hands further under her shirt, he begins to massage more of her back. Alternating between soft and hard, he gets to some of the tension in her spine. She closes her eyes and drifts off for several minutes while enjoying the soothing feeling of his touch. 

Very carefully, he pulls her shirt up a bit higher and whispers, “May I?”

She smiles into her pillow for a moment before answering quietly, “Yes.” 

Lifting her arms above her head and arching her back, she allows him to completely remove her top while still partially lying on her stomach. She sucks in a deep breath when the fabric of the shirt exposes her naked breasts. Poe doesn’t stare or comment, he simply discards the garment next to them on the bed while she lies back down on her stomach. The subtlety of the motion, him removing her clothing, has her insides churning as he continues to massage her.

With her naked top exposed, he moves to her shoulders and neck. Once again he starts gently before building up and pressing down harder to give her more tension. It feels amazing.

“Mmmmm,” she moans.

He goes on like that for several more minutes and she once again begins to drift off at the feeling of his hands on her skin. When he starts to slow down and remove his hands from her body, it feels like she’s being deprived of oxygen. She is lying half-naked in bed and she doesn’t want him to stop. She wants more.

“Would you do my legs too please?” she asks hopefully. 

He leans down next to her face on the pillow. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Kissing her softly on the lips, he gets up and moves further down the bed to her legs. He pulls back the covers completely to fully reveal her lower half. Using both hands and starting at her ankles, he runs his hands up the length of her legs to her thighs. Skipping over her butt, his hands rest on her hips as his thumbs thread inside the waistline of her pajama bottom shorts.

She takes a deep breath in and wiggles her hips ever so slightly to hopefully give him tacit encouragement. 

Poe audibly inhales and slowly pulls her pajama bottoms down, carefully removing the shorts and placing them to the side next to her top.

Glancing over her shoulder, Rey can see him gazing at her in awe. If it wasn’t for the insatiable heat of the moment, she might be cold spread out mostly-naked on the bed wearing nothing but her panties. But that is the last thought on her mind. Not when his hands slowly begin to move from her calves to her thighs in rhythmic patterns. She moans more when he squeezes her muscles and begins to massage her upper and inner thighs closer to her ass. 

“Good?” he asks.

Rey just moans louder in pleasure as her heart rate continues to increase. It’s amazing, incredible and wonderful and she doesn’t have time to care how uncouth her moans sound. 

“Please touch me,” she whines, needing more of him everywhere.

Seemingly understanding her desire, he pulls both his t-shirt and shorts off, leaving him wearing nothing but his briefs. He lays down on his side and presses much of himself against her. His hands return to her body, massaging everything they touch. Leaning in, he kisses her once, twice, three, four times. She begins to lose count when they don’t stop. 

“Is this okay?” he asks when he squeezes her ass through her panties.

She groans into his mouth and kisses him so hard she might as well be trying to swallow him whole. It’s still not enough. “More. Please Poe, more,” she pleads breathlessly. 

He kisses her softly. “I don’t think that is a good idea.”

She doesn’t care. Lifting herself up, she pushes him down on his back and swings herself on top of him. His cock is hard, bulging through his briefs, and finally where she wants it - rubbing against her center. She kisses him more fiercely and guides his hands to her breasts, his fingers gently running over her hard nipples.

“Sunshine,” he pants, “Please...” 

She rolls her hips and begins dry humping him. Threading her hands through his hair, she bites kisses down the column of his neck. 

“Rey. Stop.” he says more forcefully, grabbing her biceps and pushing her up a bit. 

She freezes. 

“Why?” she whimpers.

Poe caresses her cheek and gently kisses her on the lips. “It’s not the right time.” Her expression grows more disappointed and he takes notice. “Please, trust me,” he says warmly. “I want this. I want us. It’s just not the right time for this okay?”

“What does that even mean?” she whines now upset. “How is it not the right time?”

He sighs. “Because this isn’t real.” 

_No._ It feels like she’s been punched in the gut as tears begin to form at the edges of her eyelids.

“Sunshine,” he says reverently while guiding her to look at him, “I don’t want our first time to be like this. This...this is amazing and I’ve loved our time here together, but this isn’t fully ours. I want us to be together without hiding who we are behind some cover identity or from the Bureau.” He smiles weakly. “As much as I love Mr. and Mrs. Kenobi, I want us to be Rey Smith and Poe Dameron. ”

She wipes the tears from her eyes and tries to steady herself with little success. 

“I want that too,” she admits.

He nods and pulls her down close. Her head rests in the crook of his neck and he presses a kiss into her hair. “Good,” he sighs. 

Several minutes later, she falls asleep still lying on top of him.

***

The following morning Rey is seated at the kitchen table reviewing the photocopies they took of the files from the Hux’s office. Something about them still vexes her. Poe is making breakfast and by the smell coming from the kitchen, she guesses that includes pancakes. Sure enough, ten minutes later he appears with a feast.

“Hope you are hungry,” he says setting two serving plates on the table, one with eggs, bacon and sausage and another with a stack of pancakes.”’

“Gimme!!” She squeals in delight. 

“Hold your horses!” 

He returns with two additional plates and a set of silverware. Rey quickly piles food onto a plate and begins to dig in, setting the files to the side.

“Jeeze, slow down. Don’t want the neighbors thinking I never feed you,” he laughs.

She shoots him a sarcastic look and continues to inhale her food.

“Next time, I’m going to swap pancakes for french toast, that will slow you down!” 

_Swap? Wait a second…_

Rey coughs on her food and takes a big gulp of her orange juice. “Wait what did you say?” 

He looks at her suspiciously. “I know you hate french toast so I joked I’m going to make them instead of pancakes”

“No, you said swap...” 

_How could she have missed it!_

Grabbing the files originally set aside, Rey hastily flips through the pages with a grin on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. One chapter left!


	7. The Fantasy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey figures out one piece of the puzzle, Poe sets a trap, and the two share a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for being a day late. I finally (hopefully) got over my weeks-long writer's block yesterday and ended up changing this chapter quite a bit to be...well...you'll see. Consider this a late sinful Sunday post. For your patience, we're going to have an extra chapter!
> 
>  **Warnings (Please read):**  
>  \- Fic has gone up to E rating as a precaution  
> \- Rey and Poe share a very intimate experience where Rey asks Poe to spank her (which he does).

“It’s a Caesar cipher!”

“What is?”

Poe looks confused as Rey pulls up the shipping manifests they copied from the Hux’s WeWork office. 

“The serial identifiers,” Rey says excitedly. “There were these random identifier strings attached to many of the orders. Sometimes they were on the whole order and other times they were associated with individual line items.” She quickly starts attempting to transcribe the ciphertext while Poe takes a seat beside her at the table. “At first I thought it was some sort of propriety identifier schema used by whatever online vendor the Hux’s were using to complete their orders, but the identifier strings are almost all alphabetic characters.”

“So what do the identifiers decoded into?” asks Poe excitedly.

“Hang on a minute!”

At first, Rey tries a 10-key swap with no luck. The letters are off by a bit. She tests an 11, 12 and 13-key next. She keeps trying different keys until finally cracking the code with an 18-key swap. Taking a notepad, she begins to write down the decoded text:

_GBI Missile Bases: Vandenberg, Andrews, Cape Canaveral._

_DEVGRU platoon 2 located in Jedha._

_Remaining SOCOM deployment: March 19._

The list of classified intel goes on and on. “I think we hit the jackpot,” she announces nervously. 

“I’ll say.”

“What do we do now?”

“Well first, we need to report this ASAP.” Poe folds his arms over his chest. “Then, we need to figure out how the Hux’s are getting this intel. I don’t know about you, but Phoebe and Armitage don’t strike me as the type of people with the skills to hack the Pentagon.”

Rey frowns and nods apprehensively. He’s right of course, even if Armitage and Phoebe were distributing the stolen intelligence, there is no way those two alone had the necessary computer skills to pull off the Pentagon hack alone. Truthfully, it was hard to believe Phoebe was involved at all. The woman always seemed more aloof than discerning. Perhaps that was the point. Who would suspect a husband and wife running an online jewelry business of selling highly classified government intelligence?

Additionally, the business at the warehouse and the subsequent assailant who shot her remain unanswered by the revelation of the Hux’s duplicity. Rey furrows her brow deep in thought. She hates this part of the job, the moment when you finally crack the case but still haven’t put all the pieces together. It’s why she is the kind of woman who starts and finishes a puzzle in one sitting no matter how long it takes. 

Poe seems to take notice of her dilemma and smiles. 

“Don’t worry,” he reassures her. Leaning forward, he kisses her on the cheek softly. “We’ll figure it out.” 

Getting up from the table, he takes out his cell phone and dials a number. 

“Maz…”

Rey looks over her shoulder as Poe begins to explain everything they have just discovered.

***

It’s the following day and Rey has returned from her morning run around the neighborhood. If everything goes according to plan this will be their last night undercover together. After phoning Maz and reviewing their findings with the rest of the team, Poe had proposed a multi-step plan.

First, Poe and Rey would invite Phoebe and Armitage over to their house for dinner. Finn and Rose would also be in attendance as their friends in order to lower suspicion. While the four keep the Hux’s busy at dinner, Snap, Karé and Jess would search their house for more evidence. Once the search was complete, they would quietly arrest Phoebe and Armitage who would be trapped in a house with four FBI agents and none-the-wiser.

Rey had to admit, it was a great plan. Poe’s strategy reduces risk and helps them gather more evidence for trial without tipping off their suspects that they are onto them.

What started as the most awkward and nerve-wracking assignment of her career has turned into something exciting, yet equally nerve-wracking for a completely different reason. Living here with Poe these past few weeks had become so familiar. What if leaving changes things?

Then again, everything has already changed, and isn’t that the point?

The sound of the water falling in the shower from the master bathroom snaps her back to the present. Poe had called first dibs on the shower before their sting operation. She smiles. For a man who teased her about keeping the bathroom clean, he took nearly as long as she did in the shower. 

With a mischievous thought suddenly crossing her mind, Rey saunters into the bathroom. 

If tonight is their last time…

She pulls her tank top over her head and pulls down her leggings. Removing her sports bra and underwear, she looks at herself naked in the mirror. Rey grins, takes a deep breath and gives herself a little nod before pulling the curtain aside and stepping in the shower. 

**

Poe leaned forward, facing the showerhead as the water rinsed the conditioner out of his hair. Closing his eyes, he let the water’s warmth wash over him. 

The sound of the shower curtain moving startles him and Poe looks back over his shoulder.

“ _Rey_ ,” he whispers as his very naked partner embraces him from behind. 

She stands on her tiptoes as one of her arms wraps over his shoulder while the other circles his stomach She presses herself to him, her breasts soft against his back and her core hot against his ass. 

“Hey,” she murmurs with a smile, kissing his neck and cheek from behind. Her hands begin to wander, tracing hypnotic patterns across his chest, back, and shoulders. It’s insanely arousing and his cock is fully hard and erect in a matter of seconds.

“Sunshine, I don’t think…”

“Shhh...don’t think.”

“Mmmm,” he moans, losing himself in her touch. When her hands return to his biceps, she pauses and slowly guides him to turn around and face her. 

Her arms rest on his shoulders and only a few inches separate them. Her hair is wet, straight and falls just above her shoulders. Miles of creamy freckled skin is exposed before him but all he can see is her sparkling green eyes and short smile. Acting on its own, Poe’s cock noticeably twitches at the very naked woman in front of him. 

“Go on,” she whispers slyly. “I want you to look at me.”

Holy fuck. Does she have any idea what she’s doing to him?

His eyes wander down from her face to her neck and finally her perfectly petite tits. He swallows deep in his throat as his gaze continues to descend, a fact that doesn’t go unnoticed by Rey. Smiling even wider now, she raises her arms up, arches her back, and threads her hands into her hair. Rotating in a full 360-degree circle, she lets him get a good look at her from every angle.

He’s panting, breathing heavily trying to control the tsunami of desire raging inside. 

“Fuck.”

Rey finishes her preening rotation and returns to face him, pressing against his chest and wrapping her arms around his neck. His hard cock bulges against her center as she brings him in for a searing kiss. The taste of her on his lips, her fingers digging into his scalp and the steady stream of warm water caressing their joined bodies has Poe struggling to keep his thoughts straight.

This is not at all what he imagined when he suggested they take it slow. 

“Touch me” she murmurs, guiding his hands first to her tits. They are even softer than he imagined, yet her nipples are pink and hard as he runs over them with his fingers. The latter has her moaning into his mouth louder than before. Taking his hand once more, she continues to guide him down her stomach until his fingers finally reach her wet hot center. 

She pleads with him. “ _Please._ ”

Poe’s brain knows they are pushing it, but his heart (and other parts of him) don’t care. The sounds she makes as they continue to make out while he massages her clit drives him crazy. 

“Mmm FUCK,” he howls as Rey reaches down and begins to slowly stroke his cock. 

“Too rough?” she gasps, pulling away from his mouth momentarily. 

“No,” he croaks breathlessly as she continues to stroke him. “Just…”

He never finishes the thought, moaning and kissing her greedily once again. He’s dreamed about them together for so long. Finally breaking the kiss, he looks longingly into her eyes. 

“You’re beautiful.”

Pressing their foreheads together, Poe tries desperately to pull himself together. Admittedly, that would be a whole lot easier to do if they weren’t both naked. Or if his fingers weren’t still working her clit. Or if she wasn’t still rubbing his cock in her hand. 

Rey grins and looks at him with a sparkle in her eye. 

She always had a sparkle in her eyes as far as he was concerned. God, she was amazing. She knew there was something strange with the Hux’s files before she even really knew what it was. These last few weeks living and working with her had been nothing short of incredible. Beautiful, smart, funny, and a thousand other adjectives aren’t adequate enough for him to use to describe her. At the moment, his brain can’t comprehend any of them because the only one that matters hits him like a Mack truck. _Love._

He _loves_ Rey Smith. 

He’s loved her for a long time — yet now is the first time he was well and truly admitting it to himself. Swallowing deep in his throat, he smiles weakly. 

“This isn’t…this isn’t how I imagined this going.”

She kisses him softly on the lips. “How did you imagine it going?”

He opens his mouth to answer but no words come out. How did she always manage to do this to him? He stutters, desperately trying to arrange his thoughts into a coherent sentence until Rey giggles and kisses him softly once more. 

“That’s okay. You’re not the only one with an imagination.” 

_“Like what?”_

The words are out of his mouth before he can stop himself. God, he is so screwed.

Rey grins at him devilishly.

“Well, remember when I was undercover with the Russians?”

He nods.

She kisses him a third time. “Remember the dress I wore to their underground casino?”

Poe nods once more. How could he forget? It was a teal mini-dress that barely covered her ass with no back and an extremely low v-neck front which accentuated her breasts and abs. Frankly, it was less “dress” and more “the most minimal fabric possible to cover her lady parts.” He’s pretty sure he made a fool of himself ogling her all night. 

“Remember when you got mad at me for not following protocol and waiting for backup before chasing Dimitri down that back alley?”

“Yes.”

Letting go of his cock, Rey swings both her arms around his shoulders and leans closer to him on her tiptoes. Her mouth slides left, past his own, and she kisses him on the cheek. Her breath is hot against him. Threading her hands through his hair, she holds his face close to her own.

“I may have imagined you taking me back to your car,” she whispers into his ear. “You’d lay me across your lap in the back seat. Pull up my dress. Pull down my panties...and _spank me_ for not following protocol.”

_HOLY FUCK..._

Rey is definitely going to be the death of him. The look on her face is downright dangerous and his cock twitches involuntarily at the thought. 

Poe tries, and once again, fails to form complete sentences. 

Laughing and kissing him hungrily, she extracts herself from him and turns around. Poe’s mouth gapes open as Rey slowly bends over, bracing her arms on the shower wall. Looking over her shoulder with an impish grin, she nods down at her extended ass. 

“T-The Hux’s will be here soon,” he stutters, the logical side of him fighting desperately against what his heart (and other parts of him) want. 

“We still have almost two hours,” Rey answers, still facing the wall. The sight of the water from the shower sliding down her perfectly arched back and ass does unspeakable things to him.

Taking a step towards her, Poe presses his cock against the side of her thigh and runs the palm of his hand over her perfectly tight ass. God this is insane. Are they really going to do this? He spends several moments massaging her ass until she gets impatient. 

“Go on,” she coaxes him with a moan.

Well. Fuck. 

Taking a deep breath, Poe reaches back and gives her ass a light playful smack. 

The warm water falling from the shower makes the contact of their skin pop louder than normal. Rey giggles. Definitely not the reaction he was expecting. “Come on, you can do better than that,” she laughs. 

He playfully slaps her ass again.

“Harder.”

He slaps her a third time, the contact of their skin is louder still.

“I said harder.”

“Rey...” he whispers, pressing his face against the side of her cheek. His left arm is snaked up her stomach, breasts and across her shoulder. While spanking her is definitely arousing, hurting her is something he could never do. 

She turns her head from the wall and looks at him. “Please,” she pleads softly. “I want you to.”

Hesitantly, Poe nods. 

Taking another deep breath, he reaches back again with his right hand and slaps her ass a fourth time.

He’s as gentle as he can be, but it’s not a playful smack. The sound of his hand on her skin makes a loud pop. Thankfully, it seems to have the desired effect. 

“Yes!” Rey moans. “Again.”

He follows her instruction, but this time, he spanks the opposite ass-cheek. 

They carry on like that six more times. Each time she asks him to spank her and each time he holds her close, grinding his cock against her thigh and gives her what she asks for. When she finally stands up straight off the wall, he’s spanked her a total of eight times. 

Rey wraps both her arms around him and kisses him fiercely as their bodies grind together. They moan as his rock hard cock rubs against her hot center. Poe threads his fingers through her hair and she bites love marks at the base of his neck and chest that will no doubt be visible afterward. For once, he is thankful the FBI dress code has him wearing collared shirts most of the time.

That thought, the reminder of work, finally snaps Poe back to his senses. They can’t do this. Not here. Not now. No matter how much they both may want to. The job is almost over. And afterward... afterward they will have all the time in the world to figure this out. 

As if on cue, the water from the shower turns from warm to cool. Guess they finally ran out of hot water.

Pulling away slowly, he rests his forehead on hers. They are both a wreck, faces puffy, and out of breath with marks up and down their bodies from where they thoroughly explored each other.

“We have to…”

“I know…”

Neither of them moves, however. Both seemingly unwilling to release their embrace on the other. The next time ( _now that is a thought_ ) they would do this, everything would be different. He sighs.

“Thank you,” she whispers, kissing him gently on the lips. 

“Anything for you.”

He means it too. He would do anything for her, the woman he loves. Poe doesn’t give a damn how hard it’s going to be. He doesn’t care that it’s against FBI rules. Once this case is over, he’s going to find a way they can be together. No matter what it takes. 

Shutting off the water as it finally transitions from cool to cold, they step out of the shower and dry each other off with towels. Poe doesn’t complain when drying off divulges into a few more minutes of making out at Rey’s insistence. A man only has so much strength after all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and sticking with this fic. <3
> 
> I sincerely apologize for my weeks-long writer's block and hopefully, I'll be able to finish this fic in a way you all will find satisfying!


	8. The Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe and Rey put their plan to arrest the Hux's into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry for the delay between updates. I've rewritten the ending to this fic three times now because it just didn't feel significant enough before and I got stuck a few times along the way. Needless to say, I'm incredibly nervous. The conclusion will take a bit of a darker and angsty tone, but I promise there will be a happy ending. The good news is that the delay in updates due to my indecision about the ending means more chapters! 
> 
> Thank you and let me know what you think! :)

Poe checks the pot roast in the slow-cooker. The Hux’s will be here in a few minutes. One fake dinner party and two pairs of handcuffs later and this entire case would come to an end. His mind inescapably drifts to what that would mean for him and Rey. 

Once they get back to the office everything will be different. They’d have to finish the usual debriefings and paperwork for this case. Given this was her first extended undercover assignment, he’d probably have to write a performance report for her Bureau personnel file. The joys of being her supervising agent. He should likely leave out the parts where they repeatedly make out against every hard surface they can find. 

As if on cue, Rey comes down the stairs and into the kitchen. Poe’s head snaps up from the pot roast at the sight of her. 

She’s drop-dead gorgeous wearing a navy blue dress that comes down six inches above her knees with long sleeves and a pink collar. Her hair is tied back and she’s wearing a light shade of rose lipstick. And yes, he absolutely one-hundred percent is staring at her lips. She smiles at the sight of him taking her in. 

“See something you like Mr. Kenobi?”

“You know I do Mrs. Kenobi.”

Giggling and taking a few steps forward, Rey closes the distance between them. Slow intimate kisses deepen and they hold each other close. 

_“Is everyone ready?”_

Finn’s voice rings from the back door as he and Rose come walking into the kitchen.

They quickly break apart before either of their colleagues can see anything untoward. 

“Yep, just finishing up with the food,” Poe comments dryly while pretending to be overly interested in the pot roast. He wipes his lips with a napkin and a small smudge of Rey’s lipstick remains on the paper towelette. Glancing up, he notices that she looks no better. She’s blushing and fidgeting with condiments on the counter. 

Rose raises an eyebrow. 

_Shit._ Does she know? 

“You know we’re going to arrest them before they have time to eat right?” 

“Yeah,” he exhales. “But we still need to look and play the part until that happens.”

“Well, you two definitely look the part,” comments Finn with a grin. “You look quite the married couple if I do say so myself.”

Rey glances nervously to Poe and then back to Finn. She laughs nonchalantly, “Several weeks of dressing up as high-class suburbanites would do that to you too!”

“Speaking of which, what about you two?” asks Poe, trying to change the topic of conversation before either of them gets into trouble. “Are you and Rose set on your cover identities?”

Finn nods. “Of course. We’re Mr. and Mrs. Calrissian. You and I are friends from Resistance Industries where I work in marketing. My wife Rose and I have been married 5 years and we honeymooned in the Amazon—”

“And where is the Amazon?”

“Brazil.” 

“Good.”

Finn gives him a look. “Relax man. It’s not like our aliases need to hold up for weeks like you and Rey. The plan is simple: they come in, we small-talk for a bit, get seated for dinner, and then bam, cuffs, cars, and jail for our spy duo. Trust me, we got this!” 

“I trust everyone—”

“—It’s the devil inside them you don’t trust,” finishes Finn with a roll of his eyes. 

“Exactly. There is still a lot we don’t know about these two so let’s stay focused and get the job done yes?”

“Yeah.” _(Finn)_

“Yep.” _(Rose)_

“Yes.” _(Rey)_

Poe nods. “Good.”

He pushes down that swooping feeling in his stomach when his eyes briefly meet Rey’s. He needs to get his head in the game. Now is not the time for that. This entire evening might be his plan, but he’s learned the hard way nothing is guaranteed. As Director Andor would say: “Make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails...then throw away the plan.” It sounds worse than it is, but the point still stands—expect the unexpected. 

When the doorbell rings he takes a deep breath and turns to Rey with a smile. “Can you get that?”

“Sure thing.” 

Leaving the kitchen, she makes her way to the front door. Poe can hear her greet the Hux’s and eventually she leads them back to the kitchen.

“Armitage, Phoebe, these are our friends Finn and Rose Calrissian,” smiles Rey with all the charm of a seasoned suburban housewife. _Now there is a thought._ “They were in town this weekend and so we hoped it would be okay for us all to be together.”

“Absolutely,” says Armitage, “Any friends of yours are friends of ours.” They reach forward and exchange handshakes. “How do you know each other?”

“Work,” chimes in Finn, “Poe and I work together at Resistance Industries.”

“Fantastic. And what about you Rose?”

“Pardon?”

“Do you also work at Resistance Industries like these three?”

“No, I’m an ER nurse at Coruscant General,” she answers without hesitation. 

Poe smiles to himself at their ruse. The second rule of lying undercover: give enough detail to be believable but not too much detail to be questioned. 

“Excellent,” claps Rey with her hands, “Now that we’re all acquainted, why don’t we move into the living room for a few minutes while Poe finishes up with dinner? Yes?”

“Sure thing.”

Without a second thought, Rey passes by, wraps one arm around his back, and kisses him softly on the cheek as she leads Armitage, Phoebe, Finn and Rose into the living room. Smiling, he sucks in a breath. 

_Focus._

He checks the soup on the stove and retrieves the large salad from the refrigerator. Looking out at the three-course meal he prepared, Poe shakes his head. Rose was right, this is ridiculous. They aren’t really going to go through with the whole dinner. Why did he bother preparing a feast? He could have easily made something quick and easy to sell the lie just long enough for them to make the arrests. Hell, he even took out bottles of both red and white wine and ordered a carrot cake from that bakery Rey loves. 

Poe sighs and leans over the counter. Yep, that’s why...Hanging his head, he takes a deep breath. Focus. He looks up after a moment at the clock on the stove. Another fifteen minutes and the pot roast would be done. 

Finishing with the food prep, he makes his way to the living room and takes a seat next to Rey on the couch. Instantly, she takes his hand and sinks into his side. 

“What are we talking about?” 

“Oh, Finn here is catching us up on the work you two do at Resistance,” laughs Armitage.

“Right. Yes. Exciting stuff,” Poe jokes with a grin.

“What about your proposal?” cuts in Phoebe. “That sounded exciting!”

“P-pardon?”

“Your proposal to Rey! I was talking to Sabine the other day and she told me that sweet story of you proposing at work!” 

Armitage turns to Finn. “That must have been something to see. What was the office reaction like?”

_Oh shit._

Rey’s hand tightens around his own and he glances over nervously at Finn. He hadn’t had time to catch Finn up on every detail of the married cover he and Rey had constructed over the past several weeks. He should have predicted the engagement story they told the Bridger’s would make its way through the neighborhood. The people here gossip more than a group of high-school cheerleaders. 

“Their engagement…,” stalls Finn.

Shit. He’s going to have to give him a hint. Hopefully, Finn can take it from there. 

“Yeah, you remember...me down on one knee...making a fool of myself in front of everyone.”

Finn looks between Poe and Rey for a moment before it finally clicks. 

“Right. Yeah.” Finn nods slowly before breaking out into an effortless smile. “We had just come out of a meeting and this goofball here”—he motions to Poe—”kicks his chair out of the way and makes a huge scene for the whole office to see.” 

Armitage, Phoebe, and the rest of the group laugh.

Then Rey turns to him. Her face is flush but her eyes are sparkling. “If memory serves me correctly, I might have even called you a moron,” she teases.

Their guests howl in laughter once more.

Poe grins and shakes his head. “I still got you though didn’t I?”

The words are out of his mouth faster than his brain can stop himself. Shit. He really shouldn’t have—

Before he even has a chance to collect his thoughts, Rey leans up and gives him a single soft kiss on the lips. 

“That you did,” she winks. 

Poe freezes and it feels like time stops. In the grand scheme of things it was nothing but a quick little peck. They had done so much more together in their time here. Even their first kiss back at the neighborhood party all those weeks ago was more intimate. The difference this time was their “act” was also played out in front of Finn and Rose.

“Aw, you two are too cute,” sighs Phoebe. 

Squeezing Rey’s hand, he gives her a nervous smile. She bites her lip and ducks her head.

Clearly, she could tell what he was thinking. They had talked at length several times (often in bed) about the need to be more careful around colleagues once this assignment was over. Now that they are here it feels like they are tripping on the one-yard line. 

Thankfully, the awkwardness is interrupted by the slower-cooker beeping from the kitchen. 

“Food’s ready,” Poe announces, standing up quickly. “Let’s eat shall we?”

As he ushers everyone into the dining room, he tries to avoid Finn and Rose’s gazes. 

Stay focused and hope for the best. That’s the strategy right now. 

Armitage and Phoebe take their seats on one side of the table across from Finn and Rose. Rey sits at one head of the table while Poe takes the seat at the opposite head closest to the kitchen. Once everyone is seated, he pours the wine and serves the soup. Finn gradually begins to steer the conversation to the Hux’s. 

“So how did you two get into the craft jewelry business?”

“I started making jewelry for myself,” explains Phoebe. “It was just a hobby at first, something I did in my free time. Then eventually, with some encouragement, I began to sell to friends and neighbors. When it was clear that I was really onto something, Armi left his job and helped me start our own business.” 

“What were you doing before Armitage?” asks Rose. 

“Oh I was working a boring desk job at First Order Technologies,” he smiles. “Trust me, this is way better. I get to be my own boss and make my own hours.”

_First Order Technologies...Why does that sound familiar?_

Finn doesn’t skip a beat and gets right to the point. “So was that when you decided to betray your country or did the treason come later?”

The room goes silent and Poe takes a deep breath. Here we go. Reaching under the table, his hand hovers over the Glock hidden underneath. Rey gives him a short nod from across the table.

Armitage’s smile waivers but does not fully drop. “Sorry, I’m not sure I follow?” he responds effortlessly, trying to recover. 

“You can drop the act.” Finn stands up and pulls out his own weapon from underneath the table and flashes his badge for them to see. “FBI. You two are under arrest. Stand up slowly and put both hands on the table.” Rey, Rose and Poe also rise to their feet. 

Armitage’s short smile fades and he and Phoebe exchange a look. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Time seems to happen in slow motion until he finally nods and answers. “Very well.” As directed, the Hux’s casually stand up and put their hands on the table.

Something isn’t right. He can feel it. They are way too calm.

Finn and Rose begin to handcuff them and read them their rights. 

“You don’t know who you are dealing with,” chides Phoebe as she is restrained. “Do you have any idea—”

“Quiet!” hisses Armitage. 

“Wait, what are you talking about?” asks Rey. 

The man turns and looks at her. His face has seemingly transformed from a fun-loving neighbor to a hate-filled criminal.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Poe rounds the table in an instant and puts himself between Armitage and Rey. The man is handcuffed, and even if he weren’t, he still wouldn’t be much of a threat to her. Those facts notwithstanding, Armitage still rubs him the wrong way. 

“What do you mean?” Poe asks, looking him dead in the eye. Armitage glares back without an answer. 

Fine. If he wants to play it that way, two can play that game. A man like Armitage is cocky and self-assured. Flattery might be a good approach here. 

“Look here,” Poe sighs, “you’re not stupid. You and I both know it’s over. The only question that remains is how you two are going to spend the rest of your lives in jail. Tell me what Phoebe meant by ‘you don’t know who you are dealing with’ and I’ll make sure you both end up somewhere with a window.”

“Go to hell.”

Okay, so flattery didn’t work. Time to try something else. 

“You know what, maybe I was wrong,” he laughs. “Maybe you aren’t that bright. You know we’ve had our eyes on you since we got here? I mean seriously, how did you two manage to hide out here all these years?” 

“Don’t patronize me!” snaps Armitage.

“Yeah, you think you're so clever don’t you?” adds Phoebe. “But he had both of you”—she nods towards Rey—”pegged as cops from the second you showed up.”

Bingo. Now we are starting to get somewhere. Just a little more...

“Is that so? Then why come to dinner tonight? If you knew we were cops, why put yourself at risk?” 

“Please, like we—”

“SHUT UP PHOEBE!” yells Armitage. He tries to lunge at her but is physically restrained by Finn. 

“That’s enough. Let’s get you two booked.” 

Poe watches silently as Finn and Rose escort the Hux’s out the back door and to their cars parked a block away and out of sight. 

Something doesn’t add up. It would make sense for Armitage and Phoebe to have partners, but the way they were acting was unsettling. It was almost like they were...scared.

“What are you thinking?” Rey asks softly.

But what would scare people who are complicit in hacking the most secure government systems? It’s almost as if—

“Earth to Poe,” calls Rey. 

“Huh?”

“Are you with me?”

“Oh uh, yeah. Just thinking about what Phoebe and Hux said.”

She frowns. “Do you think it’s something we need to worry about?” 

“I’m not sure,” he sighs. 

They stand apart for several seconds before Rey steps closer and wraps both arms around his neck. “So what happens now?” she asks, her eyes sparkling with a glint of hope. God, she’s beautiful. His arms come around her waist and he opens his mouth to find an answer, but Finn and Rose choose that exact moment to return through the back door.

Once again, they break apart (hopefully) just in the nick of time. 

“The Hux’s are all set,” announces Finn, eyeing them both awkwardly meandering around the dining room. “Rose and I can take them back to the office. What do you want to do? Do you guys want to come with us?”

A million thoughts fly through his head until he finally settles on a decision. 

“No. Rey and I will stay here, at least for tonight.” He looks between Finn, Rose and Rey and explains: “Until we have time to go through the Hux’s computers and office more thoroughly, we should stay alert but keep our cover intact. We need to figure out whether we’re dealing with empty threats or if something else is going on here.”

“Makes sense,” nods Rose.

“Good. Let’s regroup tomorrow morning, say around ten, and see where we are at?”

“Sounds good,” agrees Finn.

As they say their goodbyes to Finn and Rose, Poe can’t help but wonder if he made a mistake deciding to stay undercover. The logical part of his brain knows his reasoning is solid. When dealing with unknown variables it's best not to overreact. Still, he can’t help but think some small part of his decision was influenced by a desire to spend more time here with Rey. 

That — more than any ominous threat or warning from the Hux’s — terrifies him. If he and Rey have any chance of making this relationship work in the future, they need to be able to separate their emotions from the job. 

Hopefully, they can figure out what’s really going on and put this all behind them. 

***

Rey stirs in bed the following morning. The extra blanket and thick comforter do wonders to warm her naked form as she slides further under the cover. She yawns and smiles into her pillow thinking back to the previous evening’s events...

_They dine on the feast Poe prepared. He even bought some of that carrot cake she loves for dessert. After cleaning up, they retreat upstairs to their bedroom where she pins him against the wall and grinds and kisses him greedily._

_“God, I’ve wanted this all night,” she moans hungrily into his mouth._

_His hands roam up and down her body as they push and pull against one another trying desperately to find a way to get closer. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs as she presses hot kisses down the column of his neck._

_“You’re not so bad yourself.”_

_Slowly she gets him off the wall and closer to the bed. Pulling away momentarily, she gazes into his warm brown eyes._

_“Undress me,” she whispers._

_“Rey, I think we should—”_

_She bites a kiss to his ear. “You worry too much.”_

_“Yeah? Maybe you don’t worry enough?”_

_“Nonsense.” She surges forward and begins to unbutton his shirt._

_“Careful what you wish for Sunshine, you may not be able to get rid of me,” he teases._

_She kisses him fiercely on the lips. “Fine by me.” Several more long seconds unfold before she repeats her earlier request. “Undress me,” she pleads._

“—Rey!”

_They shed each other’s clothing and hop into bed. Minutes and hours pass by as they explore every inch of one another._

“—Rey!”

_Much to her chagrin, he keeps his word and they stick to foreplay. They grind and kiss and grope one another, but no sex. She doesn’t think it can get any better until she falls asleep in his arms naked, warm, safe and—_

“—REY!” shouts Poe from the first floor.

Her eyes shoot open and she awakens from recalling their evening together. Something is wrong. She can hear it in his voice. Bolting out of bed, she throws on a pair of shorts and t-shirt. The muffled sounds from the kitchen below has her retrieving her Bureau issued Glock from the top drawer of the nightstand. Loud noises continue to ring through the house of what sounds like a struggle. Checking her corners, she clears each room one by one before finally making it down the stairs. 

“Poe?” she calls. 

“mRe—” his voice responds.

She glances across the other side of the wall.

Her heart drops.

“Come and join us Mrs. Kenobi...or whatever your real name is.” 

Stepping out from behind the wall she trains her gun on him.

“ _Kyle._ Let him go.”

Their neighbor smirks as he grips Poe tighter into a chokehold from behind while holding a gun to his head. 

“Now why would I do that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For imagery, Rey is totally wearing [this outfit](https://i.redd.it/5c3rwn08ik761.jpg) in this chapter. 😍😍


	9. The Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can Rey and Poe make it out of a compromising situation unscathed?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this one got away from me, but the good news is that means more fic for all of you! Also, don't hate me...I guarantee a happy ending.

Rey’s heart is racing. She watches in horror as her ~~husband~~ , ~~boyfriend~~ , ~~lover~~ , partner struggles against a man intent to do him harm. She knew Kyle Ren was no good the moment she laid eyes on him. If only she trusted her gut more, then Poe wouldn’t be in this situation. 

No. 

Now is not the time to think like that. He needs her.

She raises her gun. “Drop your weapon.”

“You first sweetheart,” sneers Kyle. 

“Shoot him Rey,” coughs Poe, still struggling to break free. 

Kyle presses the weapon against Poe’s temple. “Do it and he dies.”

She tries taking a step to her left to get a better angle but Kyle drags Poe to the right. Protocol dictates she should try to reason with him first. Getting him to surrender might be the best way to guarantee Poe’s safety. Absent that option, keeping Kyle occupied could force him to make a mistake she could capitalize on.

“What do you want Kyle?”

“You don’t know?” he scoffs. “Wow, you feds are even more clueless than I thought.”

“What do you want?” she repeats sharply with her gun drawn. 

“Where are Armitage and Phoebe?” 

“We arrested them. They’re going away for a long time; just like you will be if you don’t let him go.” 

It’s clear by now Kyle must be involved somehow. The Hux’s were definitely spooked by someone or something last night and Poe had long suspected them to have collaborators. The real question then is what is his role in all this? Nevermind. She needs to get Poe away from him and out of danger. They can figure out the rest afterward. 

“They mentioned you last night,” she continues in an effort to keep him talking. “They told us everything.” Taking another step to her left, Rey tries to get a clean angle for a shot. Once again, Kyle moves in step with her. He isn’t giving her much of an opening. “We know the Hux’s business is being used to facilitate the sale of stolen government intel and we know you are behind the hacks.” 

“Bullshit,” he snaps angrily. “Armitage and Phoebe would never talk and if that is what you think you know, it’s a wonder how you managed to get this far.”

“Is that right?”

“Absolutely. I knew you two were cops the moment you moved into the neighborhood.”

She frowns, feeling a little defeated, “What gave us away?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” His face twists into a wretched grin. “Though your little performance at the neighborhood party had me thinking twice. You two were awfully convincing, and that kiss, made me wonder how much of that was really a pretense for your cover…” He grips Poe tighter. Rey scowls and bites her lip as she watches him studying her reaction. “...or if you actually fell for this idiot.” 

“Drop the gun,” she says indignantly, desperately trying, and failing, to not let him get under her skin. 

Kyle laughs. 

“Please just shoot him Rey,” implores Poe. 

She needs to end this. Searching for a shot, she raises her gun at Kyle. The bastard is using Poe as a shield. Even with the minimal space between them it would be risky. If she tried shooting him in the shoulder or leg Poe may be able to break free. But then there would still be a chance Kyle could pull the trigger before Poe could knock the gun away. A headshot would be the only way to guarantee Kyle would go down without having a chance to hurt Poe. Could she make that shot? She’s easily made tougher shots before. 

“How about this? Tell me where you put the computers from the Hux’s office and I’ll consider letting you live,” offers Kyle.

“We don’t negotiate with criminals,” coughs Poe.

Kyle hits him with the blunt end of his pistol. “Shut up!” Rey winces and he turns to her. “I’ll ask you one more time, where are the Hux’s computers?”

She remains silent, weighing her options as they stare down at one another, neither giving an inch. A headshot is the only way. It’s the chance she has to guarantee Poe’s safety. 

“Fine,” he seethes. “If you won’t cooperate, how about some encouragement?” Kyle holds up the gun to the side of Poe’s head. His finger hovers directly over the trigger. “I’m going to give you to the count of five to answer my question — or you’re going to be cleaning up loverboy’s brains off the floor.” 

Oh no. 

“Drop the weapon,” she yells angrily. 

“One.”

“I mean it, drop it!”

“Two.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. She desperately takes aim at Kyle. 

“You won’t get out of here alive if you kill him!”

He doesn’t blink. “Three.”

“Rey!” Poe chokes. 

He appears want to say something, but the words never come. She looks between Poe and Kyle searching for an opening. She needs to be sure. Her hand wobbles ever so slightly seeking the shot. She has to be sure. 

“Four.”

“Aghh...they’re in evidence lockup!” Rey shouts before he can get to five. 

It’s a concession and one she shouldn’t have made. She should have shot him and be done with it, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. 

“Good girl,” taunts Kyle before looking down at Poe with a truly despicable smile. “Who would have guessed your girlfriend cared so much. I wonder, does she sleep around with all her partners or just you?”

Rey is fuming but her anger is nothing compared to Poe. He struggles and fights against Kyle with all his might. It’s no use. The latter keeps him restrained and his gun held firm. 

“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Poe rages. 

“Not today,” Kyle retorts before looking back to her. “Now sweetheart, just where is the evidence lockup?”

She holds firm for a moment until he once again raises the gun to Poe’s head.

“One.”

“You’ll never get it,” she jeers. “It’s in our main field office building back in Coruscant.” 

This revelation seems to throw Kyle off-kilter and gives Rey much needed time to think. She can’t do this forever; sooner or later she needs to make a move. Even if she gives him everything he wants, there is no way Kyle is just going to leave. He’s gone out of his way to expose himself to them. His cover is ruined and he has nothing left to lose, which makes him all the more dangerous. Plus, there is still so much they don’t know. 

“You’re going to get it for me,” he announces.

“What?! No. How would I do that? In case you haven’t noticed we’re in the suburbs.”

“Call up your office and ask for an evidence transfer.”

She frowns. “Then what? We wait around here for days? Newsflash genius, this is the federal government you’re talking about. The wheels of bureaucracy turn slower than the line at the DMV.”

The jab seems to anger him even more. “Yes, if that’s what it takes!”

“You’re crazy. It’s not going to happen,” she says defiantly. “Do you really think you can hide out here for days without anyone noticing?”

“YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE IT WORK!” he screams. The man is completely unhinged at this point. “If you don’t make that call RIGHT NOW, I’m going to fucking kill your boyfriend here.” 

“Don’t listen to him Rey,” calls Poe. “Don’t worry about me, just shoot him.”

Kyle elbows him hard in the ribs which causes her to flinch. “Shut up.” 

In his anger, he moved a little further out from behind Poe. It’s not much further, but it might be just enough for a better shot. She raises her gun slightly. 

“Make the call.” 

Rey swallows deep in her throat. She can’t make that call. Besides being against FBI policies, whatever is on those computers must be valuable. She could never live with herself if she willingly compromised evidence. Also, Poe would never forgive her. 

“One.”

On the other hand, if she doesn’t do something fast, she is going to lose him forever. 

“Two.”

The thought of a life without Poe sends shivers down her spine and hits her like a punch in the gut. She can’t lose him. Not now. Not after everything they have been through. Not when they have finally found each other. Not when she—

“Three.”

She loves him. 

Her eyes drift down to his. He’s focused, angry, and yes, even scared. God, why the fuck did she wait until now to realize it? All that time spent together, hours and hours working and living side by side, weeks here together pretending to be husband and wife. What were they doing? She was so caught up in the moment. She could have told him a thousand times. She should have told him.

She loves him.

She inhales, exhales, and takes aim. 

“Four.”

She falters halfway through her trigger squeeze at the sound of his voice. “Rey...” Poe whimpers as Kyle holds him tighter. She can hear the pain in his voice and see it in his eyes; a pain not for himself, but for her. It feels like a rug is pulled out from under her feet as a sinking feeling engulfs her stomach. No. She can’t lose him.

Then there is a noise from the back door opening. “Rey? Poe?” calls a voice. Kyle turns slightly in surprise at the entrance. 

She won’t lose him. It’s now or never. 

_Bang. Bang._

Rey puts one round in Kyle’s head and another in his shoulder. His grip on Poe loosens and his body sinks down on the kitchen floor. Rushing over in three steps, she kicks the gun away and leans down to check for a pulse. There is none to be found. _Good riddance._ With Kyle neutralized, she hastily turns to Poe. He’s sitting on the floor catching his breath. Physically he seems okay, thank God, but something else off. His expression is distant and cold as he avoids her gaze. 

She reaches forward. “Poe are—”

“Don’t...” he murmurs, glancing over at Finn and Rose who are rushing in from the back with their weapons drawn at the sound of gunshots. 

“Is everyone okay?” asks Finn hurriedly.

The seconds seem to stretch for eons until Poe finally stands up. “I’m fine,” he announces coolly. Her heart sinks. Something is definitely wrong; she can hear it in his voice.

Finn looks at him dubiously as well. “You sure man?”

“Yeah...Not that I’m complaining, but I thought you weren’t meeting us here until 10. It’s only 8:40am.”

Finn nods. “Right. We got an urgent call from the forensics team going through the Hux’s computers overnight. They found decrypted references to a supplier named Ren in their files. The name sounded familiar so they cross referenced it against the case file and that’s when they discovered the connection to your neighbor here.” He motions to Kyle’s body on the floor. “Rose and I got the call first thing this morning and rushed right over here as fast as we could.”

Poe nods. “I see...Thanks.” 

“No problem. Although by the looks of things, Rey had everything handled just fine.” Finn puts a warm hand on her shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “Nice job.” She musters a weak smile in return. “We’ll go call it in,” he announces as he and Rose take their leave outside to make the call. 

If she was more attentive she might think something of their temporary exit, but presently the silence that fills the room and the man she loves is her only concern. He looks deep in thought and remains unable to look in her direction. The whirlwind of emotions over the last five minutes has her head spinning. All she wants to do is hold him but he seems upset. But he wasn’t the type to be rattled by a close call with death; they had been in several life-and-death situations before this one, some of them even sketchier. The only difference here was—

“I need your service weapon,” states Poe, finally turning to her and holding out his hand. His tone is apathetic and he can still barely look at her. His request, if you can even call it that, is all business. She shot and killed someone. As her supervising agent, it was his responsibility to ensure the action is properly reviewed, during which time, policy dictates he confiscate her weapon and she be put on desk duty. 

“Poe…” she says softly, taking a step forward and reaching out to him. 

He steps back. “Please. Your weapon.”

She takes a deep breath and hands it to him. Poe clears the chamber, removes the magazine and sets the gun on the counter. He leans over the island and hangs his head.

“Poe, please talk to me. What’s wrong?”

Time seems to stretch for eternity until he looks up at her. 

“You hesitated.” 

“What are you—”

“You had the shot and you hesitated...because of me.” 

“I-I,” she stutters, finally understanding. “I was worried. I didn’t think I had the shot. He had the gun right to your head. I had to be sure.”

Poe sighs. “Rey, you have the highest marksmanship score of any agent in our division. You're down at the range nearly every day. I’ve seen you make a dozen shots in the heat of the moment more difficult than that one. You hesitated...because of me.” 

She frowns. He’s right of course. She had made more difficult shots before. Eight weeks ago she would have probably taken the shot sooner. She probably wouldn’t have waited until the last second. She probably wouldn’t have waited for a chance distraction. Eight weeks ago she would have taken the shot and put Kyle down without a second thought. But it’s not eight weeks ago. 

“I needed to be sure…” 

She loves him. She knows that now. She’s loved him before she even realized it, before they even came to Alderaan. This whole assignment was simply the spark that lit the fire that now threatens to consume them. It’s so obvious and clear. She needs to tell him.

“I had to be sure...I had...”

_Tell him._

“I-I…”

“I know,” he interjects solemnly. For the first time, his face softens to something more somber as he turns to her. “The facts haven't changed though. This was already going to be difficult with Bureau policies, but now..." The defeated look on his face threatens to split her in two. "I-I can’t live with the thought of you getting hurt because of me...because you're distracted by me. Or God forbid I’m distracted by you.” 

“I-I don’t understand, what are you saying?” Tears scratch at the edge of her eyelids and her bottom lip trembles. “Are you saying we can’t…?”

...

“I don’t know.”

It’s only three little words, but it feels like her whole world is flipped upside down. She loves him. She wants to be with him. But now he’s not sure they can be together. The dejected expression on his face does nothing to abate her tears which now fall in earnest. They stand there awkwardly like two ships passing in the night, neither sure what happens next. Her heart is being torn apart.

When Finn and Rose finally return, Rey quickly retreats to the powder room before they can see her like this. She dries her eyes with a kleenex, takes a deep breath, and stares at herself in the mirror. How did it come to this? 

Fate is a fickle fickle bitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Runs and hides now..._


	10. The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are my friends. I was going to post this tomorrow, but I powered through last night, finished early, and was so excited to share it with you. Special thanks to [damerey_knows](https://archiveofourown.org/users/damerey_knows/pseuds/damerey_knows) for your wonderful feedback on the ending! And thank you all so much for sticking with me on this crazy adventure. I hope the juice is worth the squeeze. :D

Poe was miserable. It had been two weeks since “the incident” as he dubbed it and not an hour had gone by where he didn’t second guess himself. At least the immediate aftermath of Kyle’s death and the additional decrypting of the Hux’s computers brought new revelations and arrests which kept him busy. 

As suspected, the Hux’s were far from the masterminds behind the whole operation. The Bothan hacking ring turned out to be supported and funded by none other than First Order Technologies. Several years ago, the company was a premier military contractor. When a whistleblower report revealed some unscrupulous business practices, the government rescinded many of their contracts with First Order and gave them to Lockheed Martin and Boeing instead. Unbeknownst to most people, this put First Order in a real bind financially. 

Looking to stay afloat, First Order’s CEO Edward Snoke concocted a scheme to utilize their previous knowledge of government systems to steal and sell government secrets. Knowing that anyone with even ancillary government connections would be under intense scrutiny, Snoke set up the operation to leverage 3rd party hackers working out of mobile workstations. Kyle was put in charge of overseeing the day-to-day operations while the Hux’s online jewelry and crafts business served as the conduit to connect buyers and sellers to the intel. Who would think to look there for classified government intelligence? It turns out, the only reason they were able to even track part of the hack back to Alderaan was due to a boneheaded mistake by Phoebe in the first place.

(She never did strike Poe as the sharpest tool in the shed.)

The whole situation became a national spectacle overnight. A disgraced military contractor was caught conspiring with enemies of the state. Admittedly, it did feel good when Poe got to handcuff Snoke himself coming out of a lunch with two senators while lobbying for more business. Talk about perfect timing. Cell phone footage of the arrest even made its way around the cable news channels which, as Finn would say, earned him “three seconds of fame” on CNN.

But finally, a few days later when the unraveling of the First Order’s dealings was complete and things finally settled down, Poe found himself buried under the weight of regret and misery. 

The way he left things with Rey was not good, to say the least. He didn’t mean to be purposefully cold or cruel. When she asked whether they could be together he gave her an honest answer, he didn’t know. Unfortunately, that was the last thing either one of them has said on the topic since. 

Their relationship and their partnership went from something so lively and dynamic, even before taking this assignment, to something completely unrecognizable. Where before they were yin and yang, peanut butter and jelly, and Bonnie and Clyde, now they were simply functional at best. Since leaving their house, (technically not their house) they don’t hang out anymore. No more drinks and possibly dinner after work. No more idle chat in the office discussing the news of the day or funny cat memes Rey found on Reddit. And definitely, no more teasing and bickering masked as their version of flirting. 

Easily the worst part of this whole situation was that nothing had really changed for him.

When he catches her putting in extra time down at the gun range he can’t help but be impressed by her strength and determination. When he sees her smile at a joke Rose tells, it still makes him smile in return. And when her hazel eyes meet his own, even now, he still gets that swooping feeling in his stomach.

He still loves her.

He just doesn’t know how to be with her. 

To make matters even more complicated, their current predicament hasn’t gone unnoticed. A few days ago, Finn pulled him aside and specifically asked if everything was okay between him and Rey. When he tried to play it off as nothing, Finn gave him a look and in not-so-many words implied he knew there was something going on between them. Poe stuttered speechless for several seconds before Finn let it go and promised not to say anything. Still, he was given a not-so-subtle suggestion to “fix it, fast.” 

As if it were that easy. 

The thought that someone else knew about them — albeit he’s not sure how much “them” is left, did she hate him now? — was even more unsettling when Poe began to think about who else could know. Surly if Finn knew that also means Rose knew. Did other agents in the office know? What about Maz? Deputy Director Andor? Did OPR know and was just waiting to bring the hammer down on them? Dealing with these questions and his feelings for Rey seemed akin to climbing Mount Everest after swimming across the Atlantic ocean, which is why Poe found himself alone in the office finishing up a stack of reports at 7:00 pm on a Friday evening.

He pours over the paperwork in front of him. Case reports, interagency requests, evidence logs, intel briefings, daily logs from their time undercover, and yes, even a performance report for Rey’s personnel file he has been putting off for days. Who’s he kidding, he’s been putting all this work off for days. 

The lamp on his desk and the glow from his computer screen is the only light in the office bullpen. Still unable to write Rey’s review, he stares at the blank document in front of him. He knows what he wants to say. If it were up to him he would just write _“She was amazing on this operation. She’s awesome and I still love her.”_ Unfortunately, for some reason, he doesn’t think that would fly with the brass upstairs. Really though, how is he supposed to write her an objective review? The page remains blank as he starts, stops, and fails to unpack the mess that is his feelings. 

“A word in my office Agent Dameron,” cracks a familiar voice over the intercom on his desk. Just great. Turns out Maz is still here too. (Admittedly, that shouldn’t really surprise him too much, the woman practically lives here.) Closing his laptop, Poe meanders out of the bullpen and down the hallway to one of the only offices still dimly lit. He knocks on the door. 

“Come in.”

“Hey Maz,” he replies with a tired smile. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes, take a seat.” She motions to the chair in front of him and he sits at her request. 

“So…” He mumbles as they sit there in silence for several moments. Maz is doing that thing where she stares at him so intently it feels like she can read his thoughts and see into his soul. “...What’s up?”

She tilts her head curiously before answering, “Did you finish those reports yet?”

“No, not yet. I’m...I’m working on them now.”

“Mhmm.” Her brown eyes, enlarged by behind her bifocals, bore into him. Several more uneasy seconds of silence pass. “How are things?”

“...Good I guess?”

She raises an eyebrow in disbelief. This is easily the most awkward non-conversation they have ever had in the five years he has known her. There is no way she asked him down to her office just to make small talk and inquire about his overdue reports. Which means…

“I mean how are things with you and Rey?” asks Maz pointedly. 

Poe frowns. 

Of fucking course. 

Of course, Maz knows. No point in denying it. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he mumbles. “We’ll...figure it out.” 

Maz shakes her head. “That’s the biggest load of horse shit I’ve heard in years.” He opens his mouth to object, but she holds up her hand to silence him. “Now I think I’ve been a pretty patient woman these past two weeks letting the two of you sulk around here like a couple of lovesick teenagers, but this has got to stop.” 

“Maz I—”

“Shut it, Dameron, I’m not done.” Poe sinks further back into his seat. Despite her stature, he almost forgot how truly terrifying this woman can be. “I don’t know what went on between you two in Alderaan, I don’t want to know the details, but if I had to guess you did something incredibly stupid for what you thought was the right reasons and now two of my best agents are miserable, moping around and barely more effective than a couple of probies fresh out of Quantico.”

“Maz, come on, we’re not that bad.” 

She gives him a look. “Oh really? Then where are my reports? Why haven’t you finished Rey’s review? Did you even read Connix’s latest threat assessment on the Hutt cartel?”

He shakes his head as a way of an answer. Her questions are all rhetorical anyway. 

“I thought not.” A short smile spreads across her face. “Now, if you are done making excuses I suggest you get your head out of your ass and fix this.” 

“I don’t know how,” he mutters solemnly. 

“Yes, you do.” 

“It’s...It’s not that easy.” 

Maz’s short smile grows into a full-blown grin. “You love her right? What’s so hard about that?”

Poe practically falls out of his chair. “I um…I uh…I um...” 

She gives him another look. “Listen here Dameron because I’m only going to say this once and you better pay attention. The work we do here is challenging and important. It takes a lot to do this job and even more to do it well. Three years ago, you may have been a good agent and this may have been a good team, but I saw that we could be better. I recruited Rey straight out of Quantico and pushed to bring her here to Special Operations and have her paired with you. I saw something in her and I knew she was special.” 

“Yeah, she’s amazing,” he sighs. “She’ll probably be running this place in twenty years.” 

“Indeed,” chuckles Maz. “But the point I’m trying to make is over the last few years you two have only made each other better. You push her, she pushes you, and you both excel; professionally, personally, and everything in between. If that’s not a perfect partnership I don’t know what it is. So stop trying to protect her or whatever other noble good-intentioned bullshit excuse you’ve concocted. You two have already proven to be great together.” 

“What about the rules? OPR? The director?”

“Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of the wise.” She tilts her head at him. “Now you may be foolish at times Dameron, but I don’t consider either of us fools. Do you?” 

Slowly, a short smile breaks across his face. “Of course not.”

Maz nods. “Good...I’ll talk to Cassian.” 

“Okay…” 

“One more thing,” she interjects, taking out a piece of paper from the bottom drawer of her desk and handing it to him. “Rey submitted this change of assignment request three days ago—”

“SHE WHAT!” shouts Poe, practically ripping the paper out of Maz’s hand and reading it over. Sure enough, it was a completed change of assignment form. Requests like these were supposed to be submitted to supervisors for first approval. Rey must have sent this straight to Maz without ever notifying him. It doesn’t take a genius to guess why...

“Anyway. I was technically supposed to have this submitted to the director by the close of business today,” Maz says with a sly smile, “But as you can see, like you, I'm just so far behind with my paperwork right now. Maybe you could—”

“Forget it,” Poe hollars, jumping to his feet and already halfway out of the office, “I’ll handle it. I’ll fix it!” 

She can’t leave. He loves her. He loves Rey Smith. He’ll make this right.

Poe sprints down the hallway and toward the elevators so fast he completely misses the smug expression on Maz’s face.

***

Rey sinks into the couch with a bowl of chili she picked up from the bodega around the corner. After coming home from work, she quickly changed into pajama bottoms and threw on her largest, comfiest sweatshirt. Now she’s eating her feelings watching a rerun of The Great British Baking Show — and goddammit — now she remembers Poe was the reason she got into watching this stupid show in the first place. 

The downpour of rain outside is a perfect reflection of her current mood. Since that frightful day two weeks ago, everything had become different between them. She desperately tried not to think about it, but that moment haunted her dreams at night. _“I don’t know.”_ Who knew three little words could send her life into such a tailspin?

The worst part was waking up in the morning, coming into work and seeing him every day. She still loved him and on some level suspected he still cared for her too. Feelings like theirs do not want to go away easily. It also was not lost on her how hard he tried to keep things cordial and professional between them, but neither could seem to get over the gaping hole in their hearts to even have a conversation about it. 

Rey never considered herself a romantic, but the heartache proved even more disruptive than she could have imagined. It’s why she sent the transfer request to Maz earlier this week. Anything had to be better than this.

_Clock. Clock._

Her head perks up at the sound of someone knocking at the door. Who would be coming around this late on a Friday night? Maybe one of her neighbors? “Coming,” she shouts, hopping to her feet and making her way over to the door. She looks out the peek hole and stutters backward a step 

What the fuck is he doing here? 

“Rey, it’s Poe,” his voice calls from the other side of the door. 

Shit. Shit. Shit. 

She glances out the peek hole again. He’s still there, standing on her doormat in the pouring rain at eight o'clock on a Friday night. 

“Rey, it’s me, can we talk?”

Resting her forehead against the door, she wrestles with what to do. 

“ _Sunshine_...please...” he pleads 

She bites her bottom lip. Sunshine. He hadn’t called her that since their last night together. Since before everything went to hell. 

Sighing and unlocking the door, she opens it up a few inches and steps into view. He somehow looks equal parts miserable and handsome as his rain-soaked curls drape down the sides of his face.

“Hey,” she whispers.

“Hey...um...can I come in?”

Pausing for a moment, Rey nervously opens the door and steps out of the way. 

“Thanks,” he says, mustering a weak smile and stepping inside her tiny 500 square foot apartment. She watches him glance around before he turns around to face her. They stand apart awkwardly for what feels like forever. 

“So...um...what did you want to talk about?” she asks, sticking her hands inside her sweatshirt.

Like she doesn’t know…

He looks just as anxious as she feels. “Right, um, well how about we start with this?” He pulls a damp folded piece of paper out of his jacket and hands it to her. “You put in a change of assignment request? You want to leave?” 

Figures he found out. “Poe, I…” She knew it was only a matter of time before he heard. A small part of her was hoping the request would be approved and completed so they could avoid this conversation. Clearing her throat, she tries to steady her voice. “I-I can’t do this anymore.” 

He frowns and starts fidgeting. “Okay, okay. No. Shit. I mean no. Shit. Sorry. I'm an idiot. I’m doing this wrong.” He paces nervously for a moment before turning back to her. She’s honestly never seen him so discombobulated. “Okay, so there is a story. There is a story about a little kid who keeps shredding paper and his parents take him to all kinds of doctors to get him to stop shredding paper. Finally, they take him to the most expensive doctor in the world who turns to him and says, ‘kid if you stop shredding paper your parents will stop dragging you to doctors.’ The kid then turns to his parents and says, ‘Why didn’t you just say so?’” 

She gives him a look and barely stops herself from rolling her eyes. As if he expected her to understand any of that. The man has clearly lost it. “Well...alright then…” she mutters. 

“The point of the story is that the kid can make himself happy if he just stops.” Poe reaches inside his jacket pocket for a second time. “At least I think that’s the point of the story.” He holds up a retrieved object to her. “I don’t know, I’ve been trying to figure it out.” Her eyes grow wide in recognition. He’s holding a ring, a wedding ring; more specifically, her wedding ring. The one he gave her when they started their undercover assignment together. The one he proposed with back in the office. The one she had been wearing on her finger for the last eight weeks.

“But uh...I didn’t get rid of it and I don’t want to pretend anymore...because I’m in love with you. And uh...Because uh...” 

Wait what?! 

“Did you…?”

“Will you marry me?”

Rey shakes her head in disbelief. “Wait…?” She stares at him like he's crazy. For the past two weeks, they had barely been able to hold a conversation. 

“I said will you marry me? For real this time? I don’t want you to leave. I want us to be partners, in everything, forever. And before that I said I’m in love with you.” He’s stuttering and rambling as he steps closer to her. “That’s...that’s what I’m getting at. I love you and will you marry me? I feel like I can do this so much better if—”

“What in the fuck is happening right now?” Her heart is beating out of her chest trying to keep up. He loves her? He wants to marry her? 

Poe is no better as he stammers onward. “If...if I...I don’t care about the Bureau or the rules or OPR. I don’t ever want to...no.” He takes a deep breath. “I love you...I love you, I’m going to go back to that, and will you marry me? And let me just say, I really think you should. I think you should say yes.”

Rey’s lip trembles and it feels like her heart is about to explode. Poe loves her. He wants to be with her...forever. 

“But, no matter what you say there is no chance I’m ever going to hurt you again. And no matter what you say, I’m going to be in love with you for the rest of my life, there is no way out of that, that’s just like a physical law of the universe. You own me. No matter what you say, I—”

“Yes”

“—will never stop loving—”

“Yes, I’m saying yes,” she nods, a short smile playing on her lips.

Poe looks like he’s just been hit over the head with a baseball bat. His pupils are blown and his eyebrows are nearly at his hairline. 

“You’re saying yes?”

Her short smile grows wide and she giggles. “Yes!”

“...Thank god,” he chuckles, sighing in relief. 

It’s anyone’s guess who moves first, but the only thing that truly matters is they end up wrapped around one another kissing each other breathless. His lips, his hands, his chest, and his day-long scruff all smell and taste and feel just as wonderful as she remembers. He grabs her ass and hoists her up. Her arms and legs wrap tightly around him, she never wants to let him go again. Stumbling through her tiny apartment, he makes it to her bedroom. Their clothes are on the floor in a matter of seconds and he reverently lays her down in her old double bed. She hands him a condom from her nightstand drawer and he quickly helps her experience a whole new world of pleasure. 

Several hours later, Rey mounts and rides Poe while chasing her fifth climax of the evening. Her lips greedily hunt his own while his cock stretches and fills her so wonderfully. 

Their former three-story house, executive kitchen, luxury bathroom, and king bed can all be damned. 

Both of them here, together, is so much better than any suburban daydream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again everyone for reading and supporting me on this and all my fics. This is now officially my longest fic on Ao3! For the astute reader, the ending scene here is molded from [this scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1uByZV01t8) from HBO's The Newsroom. The title of this chapter is taken from the song [The Truth by James Blunt](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PBIEedo2pU).


End file.
